


The Last, Best Hope

by DeeDeeGee



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-16 21:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 94,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14173938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeDeeGee/pseuds/DeeDeeGee
Summary: Callie Elliot, the crazy kid from Vault 101, does her best to make it in a horrifying, irradiated world.  With some unlikely friends by her side, what begins with the search for her father develops into a journey of self-discovery.Strap in, Kiddies.  This'll be a long one.





	1. Raiders and Breakfast

There were three raiders between Callie Elliot and Megaton. With her back against the wreck of a dusty old car, she listened to them argue around their camp. It wasn’t much more than a barrel full of fire and an empty cargo container, but there was no safe way around it. Callie shifted her position and weighed her options. She’d been listening to them yelling long enough to tell they weren’t about to settle down any time soon, and she’d been crouching there long enough that her knees were starting to ache.

Callie checked her gun, a small pistol she’d picked up the last time she’d run into raiders, then holstered it. She’d tried to reason with the last ones, to see if they’d just let her pass by without a fight. That hadn’t gone well, but maybe these ones wouldn’t try to kill her on site. Peeking around the side of the car, she could only see one of the raiders, a skinny man in a leather jacket not too different than her own. He had a smile on his face, which seemed promising until he drew a knife and stabbed one of the others. Great, so much for that, Callie thought.

The two raiders laughed as the third fell to the ground. Callie sighed. She knew she was running out of time. Dawn was approaching, and soon it would be even harder to get around unnoticed. She shuffled in an awkward crawl to the other side of the car. She was nearly ready to stand and make her presence known when her shoulder brushed against one of the car doors, which made a loud creak.

“What’s that?” The other raider said, moving towards the car. Callie could just see the top of her head. 

“Aw, screw it.” Callie muttered. She grabbed a long, thin metal beam off the ground and stood up. The second raider rushed forward as soon as she saw her. She paused in front of Callie and gave her an unnerving smile. The woman wore a goofy leather cap with pigtails. 

“Nice hat.” Callie said, with what she hoped was a diplomatic smile.

“I’ll kill you!” The woman yelled, charging towards Callie. Her brass knuckles flashed in the firelight. Callie knocked the raider’s first punch away with the metal beam, stepping to the side as the woman lurched forward. She swung the beam like a bat, landing a blow square in the raider’s back. She yelped and fell against the car, smacking her head against the door.

The first raider, the man with the still-bloody knife, was now running towards her from other side of the car. Callie swung the beam as he approached, but the man caught it in his left hand. If it hurt, he didn’t show it. He pushed against the beam and sent Callie stumbling into the car, hitting her side in the process. 

“Shit.” Callie said. That hurt. The man still held the other end of the beam, and she tried to wrench it out of his hand. He took a step to steady himself, and took advantage of his lack of balance to kick him in the stomach. He let out an “oof” and let go of the beam, but lashed out with his right arm. The knife he held just barely caught the side of Callie’s neck. She didn’t waste any more time. She brought the beam around again, this time hitting him hard in the side of the head. He fell, and didn’t get up. 

Behind her, Callie heard the sound of a gun click. She spun around, dropped the beam, drew her pistol, and fired twice. The other raider held a machine gun, but Callie had aimed well. The raider looked confused for a brief moment, before falling to the ground, dead. Callie let out a relieved sigh, and stepped forward to see if they were carrying anything valuable. She took the guns, a tin of mentats, and the thirty two caps they had between them. She was just about to leave, but turned and pulled off the woman’s leather hat. It was ridiculous, but Callie kind of dug that. She put it in her pack and walked east through the camp towards Megaton. 

Callie reached the town just after the sun rose. She checked the time on her Pipboy. It was still too early. Moira’s shop wouldn’t be open yet, so she slowly made her way down the hill to the Brass Lantern. There was no one outside, but their neon signs were on. She reached out and tried the door, which opened. The eldest of the Stahl siblings, Leo, was working behind the counter. He smiled widely at her.

“Hey there. It’s... Carrie, right?” He asked, a tray of clean dishes in his hand.

“Callie. But you were close.” She responded, approaching the counter.

“Sorry. I knew it was a C word.” He said. Callie smirked.

“It’s fine, I’ve been called worse C words.” 

Leo laughed heartily. From the back room, his brother Andy stepped out. 

“Hey. Careful with those.” He said, taking the tray out of Leo’s hands. Leo shrugged and shook his head. 

“If you want to put them away, be my guest.” He said as Andy moved away and started loudly stacking plates. Leo turned back to Callie, rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner, and laughed again. “We’re just getting things together now, so I’m going to fire up the grill.” He handed her a menu. “Think about what you want, and I’ll be back in a few.”

“Thanks.” Callie said. This was her third visit to the place, and the welcome had been the same every time. Andy glared at her, Jenny mostly stayed outside, and Leo was almost too enthusiastic. She’d been out of the vault for almost a month now, and she was getting to the point where she could eat the food without her stomach complaining. She was used to well preserved canned goods and purified water, not irradiated rodents and two hundred year old soda. There were eggs on the menu, and that seemed safe enough so long as she didn’t ask where the eggs came from. 

When Leo returned she put her order in and sat down at one of the small tables. Her muscles ached, and her head felt heavy from having been up all night. She reached down to the pack at her feet and brought out the science textbook she’d been studying. It was far more advanced than anything she was allowed to look at in the vault, and she’d been pouring over its pages every day. 

Leo came out with her breakfast. “Thanks.” She said. He hesitated.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked. She already had a bite of eggs, which weren’t too bad. She motioned to the seat across from her.

“What’s with the snake on your jacket. Does it mean anything?” He asked, sitting down. Callie gave a sad smile.

“It used to belong to a guy I knew. It was more his thing, but he... gave it to me when I left.” She said. She hadn’t talked to anyone about why she’d left the vault, and she wasn’t sure this was the best time to start. Leo seemed to sense her unease, and changed subjects. 

“You’re the one who’s going to shut off the bomb, aren’t you?” He asked, a smile on his face again. Callie grunted and nodded, her mouth full again. After chewing for a minute, she answered.

“That’s the plan. But I’m not even going to touch the damn thing until I’m absolutely sure I know what I’m doing.” She said, tapping the book in front of her.

“As the guy living right next to the damn thing, I appreciate that. It’s about time someone did something.” He smiled at her again, which she returned. She liked Leo. His enthusiasm might seem a bit artificial, but he was still the nicest anyone had been to her since she’d left, besides Moira. 

“Is it just the three of you running this place?” She asked.

“Yeah. We do okay. Things could be better, and it gets kinda crazy sometimes, but we make it work... one way or another.” He rambled, smile still on his face.

Callie nodded, and took another bite. The “hashbrowns” that came with her eggs were not great, and nothing like home, but she ate them anyway. This was what she had to get used to now, she kept telling herself. She didn’t have any choice. 

“Are you... bleeding?” Leo asked, noting the side of her neck.

“Aw, still? Sorry.” She said, grabbing a napkin off the table and pressing it to the small nick on her neck. 

“It’s okay.” Leo said. He looked concerned. “Do you want to head over to see the Doc? I can keep this warm for you.”

“Nah. Thanks, but it’s not bad. Plus I’ve got a deal with Moira. She gets first dibs on my injuries, and she lets me sleep in the back if I get to her place before she locks up.”

Leo shook his head. “That’s... well, if that works for you.” He said, looking no less concerned.

Callie sat back in her chair, an amused look on her face as she dabbed at the small cut. “I don’t know if it works, but it’s kept me alive so far.”

Leo laughed and stood up. “Fair enough. I’ll let you eat. Shout if you need anything.”

He walked back to the bar, and Callie took another bite of the eggs. Leo seemed a polar opposite to his brother. Andy had been less than helpful when she tried to get information about Moriarty, one of the other notable assholes in town. Moriarty was the worst of the bunch because he was holding information over her head. Callie just hoped what she’d brought back for Moira would finally earn her enough to pay off the bastard and figure out where to find her Dad.

After she was finished, Callie stuffed her book back in her bag, and swung it around back on her shoulder, wincing as she did. Her side hurt. Maybe she’d broken a rib. Moira would like that. Callie didn’t love going on these jobs for Moira’s book, or being a lab rat, but she did like money, and sleeping indoors. She settled up her bill with Andy, who barely looked at her, and waved to Leo before leaving. What an odd, strangely attractive family, the thought with a smile.

Looking up the path she’d come, Callie was happy to see Moira’s lights were now on. She opened the door and nodded at the security guard.

“Just a minute.” Moira chirped from somewhere.

“It’s just me.” Callie said, hoisting her bag on the counter. She’d made fast friends with Moira. They’d bonded over an enthusiasm for taking things apart and building new, better things with the pieces. Moira was confusingly cheerful most of the time, but unlike Leo, Moira had a passionate sincerity that would have made Callie help her even if she weren’t desperate. 

After a few minutes, and a loud electrical-sounding bang, Moira appeared. She pulled Callie over to the back, where she had a hospital gurney. She bandaged her neck, took a blood sample, and examined her side.

“Hmm, looks like you might have a good bruise there, tomorrow. Let me try this.” Moira said. She picked up what looked like a stimpak, but the colours were all wrong.  
“This should help. Let me know if you feel calmer, and more relaxed.” She said, injecting Callie in the arm.

“Uh.” Callie said after a moment. “Am I supposed to be sweating this much? I feel like I have a fever.” 

“Whoops.” Moira said. “We’ll add that to your hazard pay.”

“Damn straight you will.” Said Callie with a shaky laugh. Moira chuckled and swatted her arm.

“You go ahead and have a rest, and I’ll have a look at what you brought in.” She said, walking back over to the front counter.”

“Yeah. I’ll be here. Don’t.. think I could move anyway.” Callie mumbled. She was happy her instincts had turned out to be right about Moira. She’d been the most helpful person she’d met outside the vault, and over the past couple of weeks, she’d grown to trust the quirky shopowner. Callie watched her as she endured the weird, hot feeling the stimpak was giving her. Her heart was beating too fast now.

“Oh, this is in such good condition.” Moira said, holding up the machine gun she’d pulled off that raider. 

“How good?” Callie said, suddenly drooling. “Aw, what the hell?”

Moira looked back. “Oh, not again. Here.” She hurried back over to Callie and handed her a towel. She then pulled out a different coloured stimpak.

“Uh uh. No.” Callie said, wiping her mouth. “I’m done for today. Make me normal again.”

Moira thought for a moment. “An extra 50?” She asked with only a little bit of guilt on her face.

Callie sighed, before giving Moira a thumbs up and resting her head back on the desk. Almost as soon as she felt the needle in her arm she cooled down, and she felt her heart stop beating in her ears. 

“Better.” she said with a sigh. “Much better.”

“See. I knew it. Oh you are invaluable, Callie. Thank you. The drooling should stop soon.”

Callie wiped her mouth again. “Thanks.” She was now able to get some actual rest while Moira counted out caps for her. When she felt steady enough to walk, she made her way back over to the counter and leaned a hand on it. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious how important this was to her. Colin Moriarty was one of the first people she’d spoken to outside the vault, and she had been sorely unprepared for the conversation she’d had. Callie wasn’t usually one to clam up, but discovering her father had not only left her, but lied about pretty much everything in her whole life had been like a slap to the face. Moriarty would accept nothing less than three hundred bottle caps, which seemed like a ridiculous request to someone who’d never thought of them as currency. She’d botched that first meeting so badly, that there was no more negotiations to be had. 

Now she was almost there. Working for Moira was grueling, but it seemed like the best option. “Okay. We’ve got two hundred and fifty seven here.” Moira said, pushing several stacks of caps towards Callie.

“Just for this?” Callie asked, not hiding her surprise.

Moira wrinkled her nose. “Just a tip, hun. That usually gives away that you were expecting less from the seller, which isn’t a good move.”

Callie smiled. “Thanks, and you’re right, but, I mean... I could get out of here with this.”

“I know. And good for you.” Moira said warmly. “I hope you’ll still come back to help with the book once in a while.”

Callie nodded. “Absolutely. Thank you Moira. I appreciate what you’ve done for me. And... I actually wanted to ask for your help on something.” 

“Oh, of course.” Moira said. Callie put her caps away with the rest she’d earned. She had well over three hundred now, which means not only could she find out where her father was, she could actually afford food for the trip. As much as she wanted to go, she just couldn’t leave without helping the town. Callie pulled out her science text and placed it on the counter.

“I think I have all this right.” She said, flipping through the pages of handwritten notes, “I just need someone to check my calculations to make sure I don’t roast us all.”

“Oh, of course, the nuke. Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” Moira said. Callie pulled a chair up and the two of them poured over Callie’s notes. She’d stopped drooling now, and was in a far better mood than she was all night. Maybe things were finally looking up.


	2. Stalling

“Say Ah.” Doc Church said. Callie complied.

“It’s weird.” Callie said, as soon as the tongue depressor was out of her mouth. “I’ve never had a doctor who wasn’t my dad.”

The doctor snorted out a laugh. “So long as you don’t go expecting me to kiss your skinned knees.” He threw the tongue depressor in the garbage and motioned to her Pipboy. “That thing tracks your vitals, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Callie said, switching to the screen that displayed her current state of health. Doc Church took her arm and examined the readings.

“You’re in good shape, considering all Moira’s put you through.”

“Good.” Callie said. “I was worried about the radiation level. It seems high.”

Doc Church laughed loudly. “You’re fine. If you start glowing, come back and see me.”

Callie gave him an uneasy smile. “Here.” He said. He walked over to his computer and loaded up a few short documents on the signs of radiation poisoning and she let him upload them to her Pipboy. 

“We haven’t had a vault dweller out here for a long time. How are you adjusting, aside from the radiation?” He asked. He sounded genuinely curious, a change from the gruff tone he’d been using. Callie had decided she should come in for a quick check up before she left. Moira’s health care was hit or miss, and a mechanic was a poor substitute for a real doctor.

“It’s... a lot to deal with.” Callie said. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share, and wasn’t sure how well she could put it into words anyway. “I’ve never really met new people before. In the vault, I mean, unless a baby’s born, you know everything about everybody already. Going to a whole new town, talking to people who’s history I don’t know... It’s uh, different.”

The Doc nodded. “Hmm, I hadn’t considered that. And I thought we were bad for small town gossip.”

Callie laughed. “Yeah. You can’t keep a lot of secrets...” She trailed off, then cleared her throat. “What’s the deal with everybody here, anyway? I’ve met probably a third of the town, but I don’t know anything about anybody.”

“Now I don’t know how strict your father was with confidentiality-” Doc Church grumbled.

“Oh, I’m not asking for medical history, I just want to know a bit more about this place, if I’m going to make myself at home.” Callie said. It had been two days since she’d deactivated the bomb, and shot that creepy weirdo in the white suit before he could do in Sheriff Simms. She was hoping for their gratitude. She was not expecting them to give her a whole house.

The Doc frowned at her. “That’s right. They gave you the old place just up the way.” He seemed to be debating what to tell her. Callie didn’t want to push. She knew how stupid it would be to get on the bad side of the only doctor in town.

“It’s a great place. More space to myself than I’ve ever had. And a shower! I took a shower for the first time in God knows how long.” Callie said, trying to change the subject.

“Good.” He replied. “Look. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, and you know a thing or two about this place already. So I’ll give you this, but nothing else. Don’t...” He frowned, thinking. “Be careful around that Leo Stahl.”

Callie raised her eyebrows. Of all the people she expected him to warn her about, she at least expected it to be one of the creeps that hung around with Moriarty.

“Leo seems like an okay guy. Maybe a little, I don’t know, overenthusiastic.” She said.

“He’s a good kid, or he was at some point,” Doc Church said, annoyed. “But he’s got a Jet addiction, and it’s getting worse. I don’t trust him alone in my place, and you shouldn’t either.”

Callie nodded. “Good to know. Thanks.” She said. “And I know that stays between us.”

“Yes. Yes it does.” He replied, moving back to his computer, seemingly done with her.

She left the clinic feeling concerned for Leo, and more sure of herself. The sun was just setting, and the sky was an early blend of pinks and greens. She still wasn’t used to it, but it was beautiful. She had a place to stay now, she knew she wasn’t dying of radiation, and she had a map that would take her to the radio station. She decided to visit Moira one last time before she left. She’d already thanked her and said her goodbyes, but she wanted to pick up one last thing.

An older couple who’s names she didn’t know smiled at her as she made her way to Moira’s. She could get used to this. There were only a handful of people who actually smiled at her back home. She frowned at the thought. No. This place was home now. And anyway, at least one of those people were dead. Another missing. She’d stalled too long in this place, and apparently she wasn’t the only one who thought so. Moira looked surprised when she opened the door.

“Callie? I thought you’d have left by now.”

“I will. Tonight’s the night, but I was...” She looked at the wall of supplies Moira kept on display. Moira laughed and came around the counter to grab two bottles off of a shelf.

“Here. You’ve been eyeing this since you got here.” Moira said, pressing the hair dye into Callie’s hand. 

“It’s silly, really.” Callie muttered, shoving her free hand in her pocket.

“No it’s not. You told me yourself that this wasn’t something you were allowed to do in the vault.” She put a hand on Callie’s shoulder. “You’ve got a long way to go, and this won’t be a fun trip. You’ve got to find as many bits and pieces of happiness as you can. It’s the only way to survive out here.”

Moira looked kindly at Callie, and Callie nodded. She was touched, and felt a lump in her throat. She reached for her bag of caps, but Moira waved her away. “Take it. Call it a bonus for being the best assistant I could ask for.”

“Thanks, Moira.” Callie managed. She hugged her friend, and left after promising to come back as soon as she was able. She started up the path to her house to pick up her bag and weapons, but hesitated. She knew she’d been wasting time here, but she knew how guilty she’d feel if she left without saying something to Leo.

She stashed the two bottles, one of bleach and one of dye, in one of the inside pockets of her leather jacket, and approached the Brass Lantern. She nodded to Jenny as she passed through the door. As always, Leo was happy to see her. Andy was working in the back, and didn’t look up. The smile faded off of Leo’s face when he saw her serious expression.

“Heya, Callie. Everything all right?”

“Yeah,” She replied. “But can we talk?”

Leo nodded. “Of course. I’m always happy to talk-”

“I mean, somewhere else?” She said, cutting him off. “My place isn’t far.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. I guess so. Let me see if Jenny can cover for me.” Leo said. He walked outside, and Callie took in a breath. She was nervous, but she couldn’t back down now. It would be fine. She was good at talking to people. Amata always said so. Not that that ever got her into anything but trouble. After a minute, Leo returned with Jenny, who shot Callie a sly smile.

“Do I need to ask your intentions with my brother?” Jenny asked.

Callie laughed nervously. “Oh, no. No. Nothing like that. I just had a few questions for him. It won’t take long.” She said, hoping she didn’t look suspicious. “It’s for Moira’s book.” She added.

Jenny let out a hum. “I’m just teasing. It’s been a slow night, anyway. You can keep him for a while.”

Callie looked at Leo, who looked very confused. “Ready?” She asked.

“Uh, yes. Thanks, Jenny.” He said, and they left together. Leo didn’t say a word until Callie let him inside her place. “This is... nice. A little sparse maybe.”

Callie shoved her hands in her jacket pockets again. She needed to get this over with.

“Look, Leo. This isn’t about the book.” She said. He turned and took a step towards her.

“Yeah?” He asked in a low voice, a smile on his face again. “Then what do you need?”

She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you about your drug problem.”

Leo looked like he’d been slapped in the face. He turned away from her and walked a few steps away. “Jesus, Callie. What are you talking about?”

“I know about the Jet, Leo. And... I think you should get some help.” She said. He was pacing now. 

“Oh you do, huh?” He snapped. “You who’s known me for what, a week? You think you can just tell me what to do?”

She’d known him for well over a month now, but mentioning that wouldn’t help any. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but I am concerned-”

“About what?” He asked, throwing up his hands. “So I’m a junkie. Who cares? I’m not fucking hurting anybody.” He sounded more desperate than angry now, but he was still nearly shouting at her, which got her back up.

“Are you sure about that?” She asked, stepping closer to him. “You’re absolutely sure this has nothing to do with why your brother doesn’t trust you with a stack of plates, or why your sister doesn’t leave you alone with the till?”

“How did you even find out, huh? Tell me that.” He said. He was close to her again. His eyes darted back and forth, like he couldn’t pick one of her eyes to focus on. He was loud and angry, but not in an aggressive way. She could feel his frustration, and his panic, but she didn’t feel afraid of him. She held her ground, and maintained eye contact.

“My dad’s a doctor. I pick up on things like that.” She said, thinking quickly. She wasn’t about to sell out the Doc.

“And what am I supposed to do, huh? I can’t...” He seemed to sink into himself, and the anger left his voice. He brought his face to his hands. “God.” He said. “I’ve been bleeding them dry for years.”

Leo slumped down on Callie’s one piece of furniture, a terrible old couch. She slowly moved towards him. He continued talking.

“It’s like a compulsion. Even when I don’t want to, I just end up doing it anyway. I don’t know that I can stop.”

She sat down next to him. The couch wasn’t so small that they were touching, but they were close. “I don’t know much about Jet at all.” She said, “but I’m sure that Doc Church could help-”

“Doc Church doesn’t like me. I tried to... He doesn’t like me at all.”

Callie nodded. “He doesn’t have to like you to help you. He’s a doctor, his job is to help you. I know there can be bad withdrawal with some drugs, so he might be able to give you something for that, or help you stop slowly rather than all at once, so it’s not so hard?” 

She was assuming a lot, she knew. She didn’t know what Jet was a month and a half ago. Leo stared at the empty space in front of him. “God, Callie. I don’t know.”

“Please.” She said, speaking softly now. “You’ve got a family who cares about you. It’s not fair to just tune out and leave them behind.”

She hadn’t realized how much what she was saying related to herself until she saw the pity in Leo’s eyes. She hadn’t told him much about her Dad, but he knew the gist. He put a hand on her shoulder.

“Callie. I know you’re trying to help, and that I’ve been an asshole since I got here.” He said with a weak smile. All his artifice was gone. This was the most genuine he’d been with her, and in the midst of it all he was comforting her. Any anger she was feeling drained away as well.

“It’s okay. I blindsided you with this.” She said. Leo let her shoulder go and ran a hand through his hair. He stood up, taking a deep breath as he did so.

“I’m gonna do it. I’m going to get everything I have and give it to Doc Church. He can figure out how do deal with it.”

She stood up as well, but he didn’t move. They stood close together in front of the couch in her near empty metal house.

“You’re leaving tonight, aren’t you?” He asked.

“Yeah, but I’ll be back. I’ve got this place now. And people I want to see again.” She said. He smiled, a bright, sincere smile that made his eyes light up. It made Callie smile back a little wider than she would have normally.

“Good. I’m glad.” Leo said. He took her right hand in his, and brought it to his face so he could kiss it. Callie was surprised, but not in an unwelcome way, until she remembered how bruised and cut up her knuckles were. He noticed too, and stopped to examine her hand.

“This looks painful.” He said quietly.

“It’s manageable.” She said. He smiled slowly, still holding her hand.

“You know I do have something that could help with that.” He said. She looked up, angry till she saw the impish look in his eyes.

“Hilarious.” She said. He chuckled and brought her hand up again, leaving a small, gentle kiss not on her hand, but on the inside of her wrist. It was a surprisingly tender gesture, and she found herself speechless for a moment. She wasn’t about to let that get any further. While that kiss had nearly in itself been more intimate than any of the mutual teenage fumbling with Freddie back in the vault, it didn’t seem right. Not after their conversation.

“It’s getting late. I need to get going soon.” It wasn’t exactly true. She wanted to wait until it was dark to leave, but it seemed the kindest way to keep things as they were for now.

“Of course. Thanks, Callie. I don’t know, but I feel like maybe this’ll work this time.” 

He smiled at her one more time, and left without another word. Callie slumped down onto the cough, hoping she’d done enough. She leaned into the cushion Leo had been sitting up against, wondering if it would still smell like him. The answer turned out to be no. Absolutely no. The old dusty couch smelled like old dusty couch. Still, she thought, that went way better than she thought. 

“Good evening, Madame. I hope you’re well!” Said Wadsworth. The Mister Handy hovered in from around the corner, scaring the living hell out of Callie.

“Christ!” She yelled. “I forgot you were there.” She said, laughing. 

“I have not left the house, I assure you.” Wadsworth said in his usual pleasant, slightly sarcastic tone. 

Callie smiled. “So, I hear you can do hair.”

At ten o’clock, Callie left Megaton with a pack full of supplies, a knife, a gun, and a bright blue, chin-length haircut.


	3. The Powerhouse

The subway tunnels were the worst. They were the worst! After what seemed like forever wandering around with only her Pipboy light and a poorly charted map to guide her, Callie saw daylight again. She shoved the metal subway door open, which made it fall off its hinges and slam loudly to the ground. She let out a frustrated yell and flipped the bird at the door with both hands. It was stupid, but she’d had enough of sneaking around through sludge. She took a deep breath, and never thought the outside air could ever smell so good. 

Movement. Callie quickly crouched down. There was something big coming her way. She’d talked to the folks in Megaton about super mutants. She knew they were dangerous, but she’d expected them to be human sized, like an extra-strong ghoul. She wasn’t at all prepared for the two giants that came into view. 

“Shit!” She said, as one of them hoisted a massive gun in her direction. She grabbed the metal door, holding it up to use it as cover. A bullet pinged off the door, knocking it out of her hands. Standing back up, she quickly ducked back into the Metro station. She’d picked up an old rifle on her way, and she pulled it around from where she’d strapped it across her back.

There was a loud grunt from outside, and Callie heard at least one of those monsters stomping towards her. She backed up to give herself enough space, cursing herself for not spending more money on bullets. A flash of greenish-yellow skin burst through the open doorway. Callie let go of the breath she was holding, and fired twice into its face. She caught it close enough to its eye that it grabbed its face in its hands and yelled, a horrible noise that echoed through the station. From the other end of the station, in the near dark, she heard a very different sort of noise. Feral ghouls. She’d managed to just barely slip by the last four or five of them, and now they knew exactly where she was. The second super mutant appeared near the door, and Callie fired one more shot that with a huge stroke of luck, hit its hand. It dropped the machine gun, and shouted a bunch of nonsense at her. Callie squared up and cracked her neck.

“You assholes. This day has already been too fucking long!” She yelled at them. 

“I will crush your face!” The super mutant yelled back. 

Just then, the ghouls appeared, moving fast towards them. The mutants turned and stomped towards the ghouls, and Callie was able to run past them all and back into the open air. She could hear them yelling and fighting with each other, which was fine by her. 

She reloaded as she slowed to a walk, examining her surroundings. The devastation around her was far worse than she expected. She’d seen holotapes of pre-war cities, of the towering buildings and the busy streets, but all of that was in ruins here. It felt strange to mourn people who’d died hundreds of years ago, but the devastation hit her in the gut. Millions dead. By the smell of it, some of them fairly recently too. In the distance, she saw another super mutant. This one carried a massive hammer. It saw her at the same time she saw it, and charged forward. Callie didn’t hesitate this time, and raised her rifle. Her pipboy scanned the beast in front of her, and Callie quickly glanced at it to see if it identified any weak spots. With narrowed eyes, she aimed for the mutant’s knee. She fired four times before it fell. Another mutant, one from the metro station, had run out of the station, and was heading her way from behind her. Callie started running, trying as she did to frantically to reload her rifle.

The super mutant was gaining on her. She could hear the heavy steps getting closer and closer. “Smash your face!” It yelled. Callie risked a look back, but as soon as she did so she collided with a shopping cart. She fell to the ground and turned back, scrambling for her rifle. She fired, hitting the mutant’s stomach, but it didn’t even slow down. From behind her, she heard the sound of laser fire, and the super mutant collapsed dead at her feet just before it reached her.

Callie spun around, still on the pavement. Looking up, she saw a massively armored woman with a blonde ponytail. Callie started raising her weapon but the woman slowly shook her head. She had a far bigger laser rifle that was now pointed at Callie.

“Hey...” Callie said with a weak smile. “How’s it going?” She added, trying to sound as casual as she could considering she felt like her heart was beating through her eyes. God, she hoped this wasn’t another raider.

“What are you doing out here?” The woman demanded. 

“Oh, you know. Out for a walk.” Callie replied with a shrug. The woman did not crack a smile.

“This is no place for a civilian. You need to leave.”

Callie held out her hands, far from her weapon. “Hey. I’m just trying to get to the radio station.” She said, slowly standing up. The woman sighed and lowered her weapon, an impatient look on her face. There were at least three others with her, all just as heavily armoured.

“We’re heading that way. You can tag along, but don’t get in the way, and don’t do anything stupid.” The woman said. That was a far better offer than Callie could hope for. She dusted herself off and fell into step with the woman.

“What are you guys doing out here?” Callie asked.

“Protecting people like you from things like that.” The woman replied, raising her rifle at another super mutant that had appeared in front of them. She fired once and the mutant staggered backwards, yelling and clutching his shoulder. Callie aimed her own rifle and landed a shot to the mutant’s neck, killing it.

“Not bad.” The woman said with a nod. Moira had told Callie about the Brotherhood of Steel, and she couldn’t imagine this group being anything but, so she tried not to say anything stupid.

“So you guys are like the cops, right?” Callie asked. The woman looked at her, annoyed. Apparently that was a stupid thing to say. Nice job, Cal. She thought to herself. 

They turned a corner, and after dispatching another three mutants, one of the soldiers yelled out an All Clear. They continued walking, and Callie decided to start over. “I’m Callie Elliot.” She said.

“Sentinel Sarah Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel, commander of The Lyons Pride.” She said, gesturing to the rest of her team.

“Is it always this bad out here?” Callie asked. They were walking through what might have been a school at one point. There was a fire burning in one corner, and there were skeletons draped over desks nearby. 

Sarah shot Callie another annoyed look. “This is downtown D.C. Of course it’s always this bad. Have you been living under a rock.”

Callie thought for a moment. “Kinda.”

There were more mutants up ahead. “Commander!” One of the soldiers yelled. Sarah leapt forward, and Callie was impressed at how easily and quickly they all moved considering the bulky armor. She’d have to figure out how that worked someday. 

The Lyons Pride was an amazingly efficient team, but Callie still managed to get a few good shots in, earning her a nod from the Sentinel. It wasn’t long before they reached a large open plaza. The sign for the broadcast station filled Callie with equal parts relief and dread. What would she say to her father once she saw him, if he were even there? 

She didn’t have time to dwell on that, as she heard Sarah swear from a few feet away. She looked over and saw a soldier, dead on the ground. She approached where the Pride was gathered. “I’m sorry.” Callie said. She saw Sarah’s jaw clench. 

“It happens.” Sarah said flatly. Callie turned back towards the Galaxy News Radio building, but before she could take another step the ground started to shake. 

“What is that?” Callie asked, raising her weapon. “What the hell is that?”

The others were looking around as well. An inhuman roar echoed off the buildings. 

“Oh my God! It’s a Behemoth!” One of the soldiers yelled. Sarah started shouting orders to her squad, but they were interrupted by a huge explosion that sent Callie flying backwards. She slammed into the edge of a concrete fountain right between her shoulder blades. The wind was knocked out of her, and she tried frantically to calm herself, to breathe out instead of in the way her father had taught her after Wally had punched her in the back during gym class. As soon as she was able to breathe again, she looked up and saw the biggest goddamn being she’d ever seen. She had no time to process how horrifying it was, as it was violently attacking everything in sight. Her rifle was out of reach. Callie looked to her left. The dead soldier’s hand was holding what looked like some kind of rocket launcher. She grabbed it and staggered to her feet. She took a few steps forward, which put her next to the Sentinel again.

Sarah looked at Callie, who gave a quick tilt of the head and a nearly frenzied laugh. “The bigger they are, right?” Callie said. The behemoth was running towards them now, and Callie knew she only had one shot. She aimed carefully and fired. The kickback was hard, and Callie was nearly pulled off her feet again if not for an armored hand on her arm, steadying her. The explosion was more intense than she could have imagined, and she had to bring up her hand to shield her eyes. The behemoth fell with enough impact to shake the ground and crack the pavement. Callie’s ears were ringing, and she was still trying to get her breathing under control, but it was done. It was dead.

“Not bad at all... for a civilian.” Sarah said from beside her, a small smile on her face.

Callie laughed, which sent shooting pains through her back. “Not bad yourself, Sentinel.” 

Sarah slapped her on the shoulder, which also hurt, before walking off to help her team. Callie looked up at the building. “Here we go.” She muttered, and walked inside.


	4. R&R

Did everyone think she was their errand girl, or was she just being too nice? This was the thought on Callie’s mind as she wearily made her way back to Megaton. It had taken her four days to get that damned satellite up to the top of the Washington Monument, and even after she did that, she was left with little more than another mark on her map, and no way to know for sure if her Dad was okay. 

She approached the Super Duper Mart. It was still silent from when she’d swept through it for Moira, but Callie held her rifle at the ready as she passed. Going backwards instead of forwards felt like she was betraying her father, but she knew that if she didn’t get some real rest soon, she wouldn’t be able to do any good for anybody. She tried to take comfort in the fact that her dad had made it at least as far as she had. Plus, there was that thing Moriarty had said about her Dad’s “friend” from the Brotherhood of Steel. Maybe he wasn’t on his own the way she was. 

The group she’d met, the Lyons Pride, hadn’t stayed long. Callie had asked where they were headed but Sarah said it was classified, then took the nuke launcher out of Callie’s hands because it was Brotherhood property. That had annoyed her, but she wasn’t about to argue with the well armed soldiers in their own outpost. She’d crashed at Galaxy News Radio that night, and spent two nights after that holed up in dark corners of the museum. The night after that she’d slept on the floor at the Washington Monument with Brotherhood patrol, and she’d spent her last night back on Three Dog’s couch. She didn’t know she could be this tired and still stay upright.

 

When she reached the gates of Megaton, it was nearly 3am. She stopped to place a bottle of clean water next to the sleeping man at the gate, and nodded to the robot deputy. Seeing her house was a huge comfort, and almost as soon as her head hit the pile of clothes she used as a pillow she was asleep. 

When she woke again it was past noon. She stretched, sore from sleeping on her front. Her back was badly bruised, and nearly all her muscles were screaming from all the running for her life she’d been doing. Carefully and slowly, Callie made her way into her tiny bathroom. She pulled her shirt up, twisting painfully so she could see her back. It was a nebula of purple and yellow bruises, but as far as she could tell, it was just bruises. Bruises would heal. 

She awkwardly injected herself with another stimpak, before returning to her room to get dressed. She’d found a black tank top in her size at the museum of all places, and put that on. Her vault suit had a hole in the lower-back where she’d slammed into the fountain, so she rolled up the top half and tied the arms around her waist. Last she pulled on her pistol and her leather jacket, the two things she’d been given as she’d left the vault. 

You’re my best friend, Butch had said, shoving the jacket in her hands. She was in a panic the day she’d left, but even so, that sentence had made her pause. After all the fights, the insults, the bullying he’d put her through, she was his best friend? He’d shocked her even more by covering for her as she ran off. It didn’t make any sense, yet she’d been wearing the jacket since she’d left. She stretched again, before she gathered the bits of engine parts and a few other random things she’d picked up and headed to Moira’s. 

“Oh, you’re back!” Moira said as soon as she opened the door to Craterside Supply. 

“You sound even more surprised that usual.” Callie said with a smile. 

“You know I’m rooting for you, Callie, but even folks who really know what they’re doing sometimes don’t come back.”

Callie barked out a laugh, then winced as pain shot through her back. “Well, maybe I’m better off since I never know what the hell I’m doing.”

“Oh, stop.” Moira said, waving a hand at her. “What did you bring me?” 

Moira gave her a decent number of caps for her finds, and she left the store feeling a little lighter. She shouldn’t be so worried about Dad, really. He was the one who left her, not the other way around, and she was determined not to feel guilty for trying to get a bit of enjoyment out of her days. She found herself in front of the Brass Lantern. Jenny waved at her as she approached.

“Hey. How’s the search going?” She asked.

Callie shrugged. “Slower than I’d like, but it’s going. Rivet City is my next stop.”

Jenny nodded. “I’ve been out there a few times. It’s a nice place once you’re there, but the trip can be a little nerve-wracking.” Jenny said leaning over the outside counter. 

“Yeah, I figured I needed a day or two off first.” Callie replied, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Head on inside. The lunch rush is nearly over, but we’re fully stocked. Andy made a run yesterday and he’s still organizing it all.”

“Thanks.” Callie said, although she felt hesitant. Would Leo want to see her? He’d been receptive when they’d last spoke, but that might not have lasted. She opened the door slowly, and to her relief, Leo smiled as brightly as his sister had when he saw her.

“Hey, there.” He said, walking towards her. “You know I heard Three Dog talking about you on the radio. I made sure it was turned up so everybody could hear.”

Callie smiled. “You mean when he said I’d fixed the bomb? That’s not exactly news here.” 

“Maybe not, but it meant you were still alive.” He said warmly. “That gives people hope.” 

“Wow. Um... thanks.” Callie said, a little flustered. “How are you, Leo?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been better, but I’ve been clean for a full week now, so that’s something.”

“It is. Good for you.” She said. Leo shrugged again.

“I really owe you, Callie. It’s hard, but Jenny and Andy have been great. I talked to the Doc, and he’s on my side too just like you said. I feel... I feel like I might be able to do this.” He looked back to the kitchen. “Now, are you hungry? I can whip something up for you.”

“I’d like that.” Callie said, easing herself into a bar stool by the counter. Leo disappeared to the back, where she could hear him talking to his brother. Callie didn’t think she’d ever heard Andy laugh, and she was surprised at how relaxed they both sounded.

After a few minutes, Leo returned with a plate for her. It looked like it might be some variation on Iguana, but she didn’t ask. It tasted... fine. She forced a smile. “Thank you.”

Leo seemed lost in thought for a moment, then he leaned his elbows on the counter between them. “So, I’m off in a few minutes, if you wanted to take a walk or something.”

Callie swallowed the bite she was eating. “Yeah. Yeah, all right.” She said. He smiled at her again, slowly this time, and Callie couldn’t help smiling back. She finished and paid for her meal, and they left together, passing Jenny on the way. 

The walked together aimlessly for a while, before ending up leaning over the railing up by the water purifier. He kept looking at her. Small, happy glances that made her unsure as to how much he was reading into her kindness. The last thing she had time for right now was a boyfriend.

“Leo, I don’t...” She started, frowning. How could she say this without hurting his feelings. “I don’t know that I can give you what you’re looking for.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve asked you for anything more than a walk.” He said.

Callie nodded. “Yeah, but... last time I was here you kissed my hand.” She said, stepping closer to him. “And honestly if I had it my way you’d be kissing a lot more than that-”

“Is that right?” He asked. He sounded surprised, but had a smile on his face.

“Yeah, but... Hell, I don’t know what my life’s going to be like next week much less-”

Leo chuckled. “Again. I’m not asking for anything but this, and I’m sure not proposing. I’m not exactly in a ‘relationship’ place myself.”

She let out a breath. “Good. I mean, it’s good that we’re on the same page, not good that we’re both kind of a mess.”

He laughed and stepped towards her. “All right, then.” 

“All right.” She repeated in a quiet voice.

“Okay.” He said in a low voice. He was so close to her now, and his smile was turning into something far more intense.

Before she knew it, she had him inside her house, pressed up against the door. She had her hands in his hair, and he wasted no time in pulling her close by her hips. She led him upstairs to her tiny joke of a bed, but if he minded, he didn’t say. He was being so attentive and tender that it was dizzying. 

When his hands moved up her back, he stopped as soon as he saw her involuntarily wince. She turned and showed him the bruises on her bare back. He traced along the few non bruised parts with his fingers.

“Pretty, huh.” She said. He grinned.

“Looks like you’re on top.” He said. Callie had no problem with that. This wasn’t the sort of rest she was expecting when she came back to Megaton, but it was way better than sitting around waiting to heal. He pulled her down on top of him, and any regrets Callie had about returning to Megaton evaporated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave Callie a bathroom in her Megaton house because come on, she needs a bathroom. Thanks for reading!


	5. These!

“Why don’t you come with me?” Callie had asked. Amata had shook her head. They’d talked more than once about leaving together, of making their way out of the outside world, far away from the vault. Faced with the actual prospect of leaving was a different story. Callie wasn’t about to push, but she hated leaving her best friend. Later, she couldn’t help wondering if it was fear or duty that had kept her there.

“If anyone can survive out there, it’s you.” Amata had told her. It was the last thing she’d said. Callie just hoped she was right.

\------

 

The best time to visit Moriarty’s was in the morning. The man himself wasn’t awake, and the bartender made a pretty good cup of coffee. Callie was sitting at the bar, stretching her shoulder muscles while she spoke with Gob.

“So, you had no idea he was going to leave?” Gob asked.

“Not exactly.” Callie said. “I mean, he taught me how to protect myself, how to fix just about anything, first aid, and a bunch of other stuff that I knew would never be needed in the vault. He never told me why, but I wasn’t an idiot.” She shifted in her seat. “I just kinda figured when the time was right, we’d go together.”

“That’s rough, Kid.” He said. She liked Gob. She felt a whole lot of pity for him and his situation, and wished she could do more than just come in and talk to him once in a while.

Callie shrugged. “I won’t say it’s been the best couple of months, but there are things out here that I’d never dreamed of. And the sky... Man, even just the sky...” She said, trailing off.

“Would you ever go back?” Gob asked.

“They were shooting at me when I left. I doubt they’d ever let me back.”

“That’s... also rough.”

Callie chuckled. “Yeah. How’s everything here?”

Gob grunted. “Bout the same.” Then he smiled. “But better with the radio fixed.”

 

Callie left Megaton soon after. She looked through her Pipboy map as she slowly made her way south. There was no way she was going back into those tunnels if she could help it. She was more than tired of skulking around in the dark. She’d heard Three Dog talk about Grayditch going silent, and while that seemed like it might be a trap, at least it wasn’t underground. Callie headed up the chewed up old road towards the town. 

There was smoke in the distance, beyond the crumbling buildings of the settlement. It was silent as she passed a spray painted sign welcoming her to Grayditch, until she heard the sound of someone running. She was just raising her rifle when she saw it was a little boy who couldn’t have been more than ten. He sprinted towards her, waving his arms.

“Monsters. Those... those monsters!”

 

“Whoa, easy, Kid. Are you okay?” Callie said as the boy nearly stumbled into her. He was out of breath, and she looked around while he caught it. There were dark circles under his wide eyes.

“They came out of nowhere.” He said, still gasping for breath. “They killed everyone, I don’t know if my Papa...” He shook his head. “Please, you’ve gotta find him.”

Callie nodded. Who would she be if she didn’t help this kid? It was a situation of which she was far too familiar. “Okay. Hey, it’s okay. I’ll can look for him.” Callie said. She put a hand on the kid’s shoulder. He was shaking from either exhaustion or fear. “It’s okay.”

The kid looked at her with wide eyes. “You’ll help? You won’t just leave like everyone else?” He nearly shouted. There was an edge to his voice that told Callie that he was nearly at the end of his rope. 

“Yeah, kid. I’m not going anywhere.” Callie said. “What’s your name?”

“Brian Wilks.”

“Callie Elliot.” She said with what she hoped was a comforting smile. “And yeah, I can help, but I’m gonna need you to wait someplace safe.”

The kid nodded vigorously. “There’s one of those little shelters nearby. That’s probably the safest place around here.”

They walked into the town together, Callie with her rifle at the ready. “So what kind of monsters are we talking here?”

“Huge ones. My papa called them “Big Fuckin’ Ants.”

“Ants? Great.” Callie said with a frown. As soon as she was finished speaking one of the ants, far fuckin’ bigger than Callie had expected, came over a hill. Callie walked towards it while taking aim.

“Careful, they breathe-”

The ant spewed a huge stream of fire at them. Callie swore and jumped back, pulling Brian back and behind her by the strap of his overalls. Once they were far enough away Callie aimed again. It took too many shots to take that thing down, but she managed to do it before it got back into range.

“Jesus. How many of these things did you say there were?” Callie asked.

“Enough to take out everyone in town.” He said quietly. Callie grit her teeth. This wasn’t going to be easy.

They reached the preservation shelter and Callie opened the door. Thankfully, it was empty. Brian walked in, looking up at the walls curiously. “Now.” Callie said, bringing up her Pipboy map. “Where’s your house?”

“It’s just over there by that big sign, next to that shack.” He said, pointing behind Callie. The adrenaline was leaving the poor kid’s system and he looked completely drained. Callie looked through her bag. 

“When’s the last time you ate?” She asked. 

Brian perked up. “I don’t know, the other day? If you have anything, I can pay you back... somehow.”

Callie pulled out some snack cakes, a Nuka-Cola and some iguana that Leo had wrapped up for her for the trip. “Don’t worry about it, just eat.”

“Gee, thanks.” Brian said, digging into the iguana as fast as he could. 

Callie smiled and opened the bottle using the metal edge of her Pipboy. She pocketed the cap and put the bottle and the cakes on the floor of the shelter. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Just don’t eat too fast and choke. I don’t want to come back to that.” Brian nodded, still preoccupied with the food, and she closed the door. 

Callie turned back towards the town, and saw another giant bug moving towards her in the distance. Callie had gotten used to a lot out in the wasteland, but this seemed especially ridiculous. “There is no reason why they should be able to breathe fire.” Callie muttered under her breath. This ant was much bigger than the first one she’d killed. She ducked into a broken down old diner just before the wall of fire hit her. 

She could feel the heat on her face as she dove behind the diner counter. There wasn’t much here. The windows were blown out, there was no door, and nothing inside that hadn’t been picked over already. Not a great place to find cover. The tap of the ant’s legs on the floor was enough to give Callie the creeps. It sounded like it was on the other side of the counter as she was, so she reached up and shoved the cash register forwards as hard as she could. It fell off the counter with a loud crash, and another wave of heat hit her as the ant blasted the register. Callie clambered onto the counter and fired downwards into the ant’s head. It let out a screech, and died.

“Gross. This is so damn gross.” Callie said to the dead ant. She took a closer look at it. The head was mostly mush from where she’d shot it, but the body and legs were intact. She prodded it with the business end of her rifle to make sure it was dead, before hopping off of the counter and walking back outside. 

The Wilks’ house wasn’t far. As she approached she noticed the door was ajar. With her rifle reloaded and ready, she pushed the door open to be met with another small ant standing over the dead body of the boy’s father. She acted quickly, firing on the ant before it could fire at her. 

Once it was dead, she closed the door and slumped down onto a singed couch. How was she going to tell Brian? She put her rifle down beside her and put her head in her hands, trying to think. How would she want to be told if... Callie stood immediately back up. No sense in dwelling on that. She needed to be simple, honest and to the point. The kid didn’t deserve anything less. She grabbed her rifle and went upstairs. The master bedroom had a large enough blanket, so she brought it down and wrapped it around the body, which was stiff and smelled less than good.

Outside the door, Callie heard the scratching of pointy ant feet. How was she supposed to fight these things? Would more fire would help or hurt? The kitchen of the small house was meager, and didn’t have much in it. Callie opened cupboards until she found one that was locked. Pulling a bobby pin out of her hair, she quickly picked it open. As she’d hoped, it was a liquor cabinet. She pulled out all six of the bottles and put them in her pack. She then took the biggest knife she could find, and went back upstairs. There was a window that overlooked the front door, and Callie opened it and looked down. There were three of those things out there now. Callie unscrewed a bottle of vodka, took a swig, then leaned out the window.

“Hey!” She yelled down. All three of them looked up, and Callie dropped the bottle out the window. It smashed onto the head of one of them just as it started breathing fire. The fire spread over its whole body and it began screeching. Callie rushed back down the stairs, knife in hand, and pulled the front door open. All three of them were shrieking now, and two of them were enveloped by flames. She slashed one in the face, chopping off at least one antenna. It turned and started attacking the others. Fine by Callie. She jogged away and let them fight till there was only one left, then she aimed and finished it off.

This was getting strange. Why did this happen? Callie had been warned about a lot of things out in the wastes, but why had no one told her the ants could breathe fire? The area looked clear enough for the moment, so she headed back to the shelter. She stood for a little too long outside the door before finally opening it. Brian looked up at her, but any hope he was holding onto left his eyes when he saw her expression.

“I-I’m sorry, Brian. Your father is dead.” She said calmly.

“Yeah... I kinda figured.” Brian said. He didn’t cry, he just nodded. Callie’s stomach twisted. The kid looked hollow.

“Look, uh. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I want to figure it out. It’s not safe outside right now. Can I keep you in here for a while longer?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.” He said flatly. 

“Do you have any other family? Somewhere I can take you when all this is finished?” She asked, scanning the area for signs of movement.

“I’ve got a cousin in Rivet City, but I don’t know how to get there.” He said.

“That’s where I’m going. I could take you there.”

“Really? That’s... great.” He said. His voice was still without much emotion, but Callie could hardly blame him for that.

“All right. You sit tight for a bit longer, and I’ll be back.”

Brian nodded. He leaned back against the shelter wall and let himself slide down into a sitting position. Callie offered him a small smile. “I’ll be back.” She repeated. He nodded but didn’t look convinced. Callie didn’t know what else to say. She shut the door again, looking back towards the house. She headed back that way to the shed near the house. It was time to get some answers.


	6. Keep Your Damn Lab Coat

“You owe that kid an apology.” Callie snarled. Dr. Lesko rolled his eyes and huffed. The man had been unaccountable, disrespectful, and oh so wrong. Callie was just about sick of him.

“As I’ve told you. I don’t have time for that. My work here-” Callie punched him in the face. Maybe that was rude, but Callie was in no mood to care. The last thing she’d wanted to do was go back into the damn Metro tunnels, and here she was again, but this time she was knee deep in ant guts.

“Look, you weaselly little shit. You fucked up, and a lot of people died. If you’re not even going to pretend to care about that, then I got nothing more to say to you.” She said. She threw his lab coat back at him. Why he thought that was a good payment Callie didn’t know. She had half a mind to go back into that smelly cave and blow that ant queen into bits, but he did seem to want to make the ants smaller, however terrible his methods were. She decided to leave him to it, but made a note to send word to Three Dog. People needed to know to avoid this place for a while.

Out of the tunnels, Callie tried to shake out her anger. She was tired, and hot from all the fire. At least she didn’t have far to go. The preservation shelter’s light flickered at her as she hesitated in front of it. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Brian Wilks looked up at her, stunned.

“They all started fighting each other, and then... well, that was it. You did it. I think they’re all dead.”

“Yeah. It looks that way. The Doc wasn’t the best of help, but the ants shouldn’t be a problem for a while.” Callie said.

“I wasn’t sure that you’d come back. Thanks.” He said, not looking at her. “And about Rivet City. I can meet you there. I still need... I need to bury my dad.”

Callie shook her head. “I’m not going to let you do that alone. Come on.” 

Brian stood up, and they walked back towards his house. “You don’t have to.” He mumbled.

“I know.” Callie said, stepping over the dead ants to the Wilks’ door. Brian kicked one of the ants before following her inside and locking the door. He knelt down beside the wrapped body of his father.

“I’m sorry, Paw.” He said quietly. Callie opened a closet and looked around till she brought out a shovel. 

“I’m going to get started. Why don’t you say your goodbyes and gather your things. Nothing too heavy, okay?” Callie said gently. The kid nodded.

“We’re not going to come back here, are we?” He said, standing up.

“Not if you don’t want to.”

Callie opened the back door of the house to a small, fenced in yard. The shovel she carried was covered with what she could now identify as ant guts. She broke ground with it and started digging a large hole. It was tedious, exhausting work. Callie turned the radio up on her Pipboy and tried to focus on that.

After about an hour, Brian came outside. He looked as exhausted as Callie felt.

“I think I need a break.” Callie said. “And I still have a can or two of beans in my pack. Why don’t I heat those up for us?”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll take a turn here.” He said, reaching for the shovel.

“Thanks, just be careful. Don’t wear yourself out.” Callie replied, handing the shovel to him. She went back inside the kitchen and found a clean pot. The house still had electricity, so she turned on one of the elements on the stove and opened the two cans of beans she had with the cleanest of her knives. After they were warm enough she called Brian inside. They sat down at the table, and Callie shook out her sore hands before digging in. Brian mumbled a thank you and started eating.

“My dad’s missing.” Callie said between bites. She looked down at her food. “Last I heard he went to Rivet City, but I don’t know if he’s alive or not.” 

“I... hope he is.” Brian said. Callie smiled.

“Thanks, Kid. How old are you?” She asked. 

“Almost thirteen.” 

Callie tried not to looked shocked. Not that she was great at guessing ages, but she wouldn’t have figured he’d be more than ten.

Brian studied her reaction. “You thought I was younger, didn’t you? Everybody says that.”

“It’s the overalls.” Callie said, hoping she wasn’t touching on a sore subject.

“Are you from a vault?” Brian asked, pointing at her Pipboy.

“Yeah. For most of my life, anyway.” She said with a full mouth.

Brian nodded and looked around the room. “I never want to come back to this place.”

Callie stood up. “Well, once we get this done, you never have to. And if you want to smash a few plates before we go, I won’t stop you.”

“What good would that do?” He asked, giving her a curious look.

“Uh... none, really. Just an idea.” She said. If the kid didn’t like smashing things, she wasn’t about to encourage that. “I’m gonna head out and finish this. You keep eating.”

It took another hour of digging to get the hole just deep enough that it would cover a body. She would have liked to make it much deeper, but she didn’t have the time or energy. There was nothing left for the kid here, and she wanted to get away as much as he did.

When she went back inside again, her hands were raw and blistered. Brian had collected all his things, and was in the process of shoving a large men’s coat into his duffle bag. He looked self-conscious as she walked up to him.

“It’s my dad’s.” He said, then swallowed hard. “Was my dad’s.” He corrected.

“Do you want help with that?” She asked.

“No, I’ve almost got it.” He said, punching the rest of the coat into the bag and zipping it up.

“So, I’m ready. I don’t know if you want to be around for this-” Callie started, but Brian cut her off.

“No, I’ll help. I need to help.” He said, straightening up. 

“If you’re sure.” She said. Slowly and carefully, they managed to get the body outside. She had Brian take the feet. He flinched when he first touched the body, but he was determined. When they were out in the backyard, Callie jumped down into the hole, and as gently as she could, brought the body down to rest. When she got out, Brian had the shovel.

“I want to do this part.” He said. Callie was relieved to be able to take another break. 

“Okay. We’ll switch when you get tired.” She sat down on the step leading into the house, and let herself rest in the afternoon sun.

They switched twice before it was done. Callie asked Brian if he wanted to say a few words, but he couldn’t think of what to say. Callie said a short prayer her father had taught her, and they went back inside.

“Thank you, for all of this. Not a lot of people would have stayed.” He said, hoisting the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder.

Callie shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been right to leave.”

“Still. Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She said. She looked at her Pipboy map. “Now, I’ve never been to this place either, so I can’t promise we won’t get lost on the way.” 

“That’s fine. It’s still way better than going by myself.” He said.

“And even when we get there, I don’t know if Vera will even be able to take you once we get there.” 

“It’s okay. It’s a start.” He said, forcing himself to smile at her. Callie opened the front door, and they left Greyditch behind. Yeah. It was a start.


	7. I Think I'm Gonna Like It On This Boat

The trip to Rivet City was long and difficult, but the kid was cautious and light enough on his feet that he and Callie were able to sneak past two different raider camps without being noticed. When the aircraft carrier finally came into view, they only had one more camp to pass through. Callie spotted two super mutants ahead to their left.

“Over here.” She said in a low voice, leading Brian to the right. He followed her down a hill to what looked like a clear path, when from around a corner even further right, another super mutant barreled up and threw a car bumper at them. Callie raised her arm in time to block the large hunk of metal, but it struck her hard just below her right elbow. She took a step to position herself in front of Brian. From the left, the other two mutants started yelling.

“Back that way. Now!” She yelled. Brian dropped his bag and ran. 

Callie raised her rifle, grimacing at the pain that shot through her arm. Before she could get a shot in, the super mutant dissolved into a pile of electric green plasma. She didn’t have time to look where the shot came from, because the other two mutants were almost on top of her. She let out a breath and aimed. The first shot hit the nail board in the first one’s hand. It went flying, but it didn’t even slow the mutant down. Callie took another shot but her weapon jammed. She dropped it and grasped in a panic for the pistol at her hip. She had to empty the clip to take it down, then jump out of the way of the second mutant, who had picked up the nail board. This time Callie saw the shot, a flash of light from impossibly far away on the ship deck. The last super mutant melted into goo beside her. Callie hit the ground in case the next shot was for her, but nothing came. 

“Kid? You okay?” Callie asked after a moment, looking behind her. Brian peeked out from around some rubble.   
“Yeah. Are you?”

Callie stretched her arm and let out an involuntary gasp. The pain was intense, but she could still move her hand. “Still kicking. I think we have a friend.” She said, nudging the goo with her boot. “At least, I damn well hope we do.”

Brian walked back up to her. He picked up his bag, and handed Callie her rifle once she’d reloaded and put her pistol away. “Sorry.” He said as she took it. “I don’t know how to use one of these.”

Callie smiled, and they fell back into a quick walk towards the ship. “That’s fine. It’s better not to if you don’t know how. Life’s hard enough without shooting yourself in the foot.”

He smiled a little at that. Callie was impressed at how calm he was being, considering this had to be the worst few days of his life. Maybe it was shock, but he was a resilient little guy. Another long day, Callie thought, as they walked up to a sign for Rivet City. Her hands were burning, her right arm was screaming at her, and there was more than a little ant guts on her clothing. 

The stairs leading up to the bridge creaked loudly as they climbed. They stopped for a moment to give Callie’s last clean water to a man who looked worse off than they did, then looked across at the ship. There were two people on the other side, both heavily armed. One stood next to an intercom, and motioned to her left, where a intercom had been bolted to the wall.

“Welcome to Rivet City, please wait.” A woman said, her voice tinny through the speaker. With a loud creak the guard activated the bridge, which swung across from the ship and to the platform they stood on, locking into place with a clunk.

Callie glanced down at the water below. She didn’t want to come across as nervous as she crossed the bridge, but they were pretty high up, and this, like most things she’d done lately, was a brand new experience. Brian seemed at ease, so she tried to preoccupy herself with how much her arm hurt, and before she knew it, she was across. The woman at the intercom leaned against the wall beside it, while the man approached them. He had a rifle on his back that Callie had never seen before, that glowed a faint green the same shade as the piles of goo. 

“Let me guess, you’re here to see Dr. Li?” The man said, crossing his arms over his armored chest. He wore a no nonsense look on his face that almost dared Callie to try to make him laugh.

“We are.” Callie answered, looking behind her to try to find the path they’d taken to get here. “Did you...” She turned back to him. “Was that you who helped us out back there?” 

He nodded. “You looked like you could use a hand.”

Callie raised her eyebrows. “You’re one hell of a shot. That’s amazing.”

“You should see him snipe mirelurks on the far end of the basin.” The other guard said. “We take bets.”

The man shot an annoyed look behind him. Callie smiled. They were safe. She could actually relax for a moment. “I’m Callie, this is Brian. We’re looking for Vera. I heard she works at the hotel?”

“Runs the hotel.” Brian corrected.

“Runs the hotel?” Callie repeated with a nod. “And for... a man in his fifties, labcoat, one of these?” She asked, motioning to her Pipboy.

“I’m Security Chief Harkness, this is Commander Danvers. If you don’t give us any trouble, you won’t find any from us. Vera Weatherly’s Hotel is on the upper deck, and Dr. Li is in the science lab, but as far as this other man, I remember someone like that coming through a week or two ago. I’m pretty sure he left soon after arriving.”

Callie gave a bitter laugh. “Course he did. Okay. Thanks for the help.” She said, then looked back at Brian. “Let’s go.”

They took a stairwell to the upper deck, and it wasn’t long before they stood outside the door to the hotel. “Maybe you should wait out here. Let me talk to her first.” 

Brian nodded, looking nervous. “Okay. Tell her... tell her I don’t mind working, that I won’t be a problem.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll plead your case.” Callie said. She ran a hand through her hair. “How do I look?” She said with an artificially bright smile.

Brian looked her over. “Fine. Kinda dusty. You’ve got blood or something on your face though.” 

Callie pulled her pack around and grabbed a dirty shirt, wiping her face. “Oh good. Ant guts.” She said with a shaky laugh. “You know, you could have told me that before I talked to the hot security guy.”

“I didn’t see it then.” He said with a shrug. 

Callie stuffed the shirt back in her bag, awkwardly using her left hand. “Okay. I’ll be back.”

She passed through the doorway. A Mr. Handy greeted her with a loud “Good Evening.”

“Hey there. I’m looking for Vera.” She said, putting her left arm on the table in front of her to steady herself. The pain in her right arm was getting too strong to ignore, but she kept the smile on her face.

“Yes? I’m Vera.” A woman said, peaking around from a back room.

“My name is Callie. I just came from Grayditch.” She said, taking a step towards her.

“Grayditch? Oh, Fred! Is he-?” She asked, walking up to Callie quickly.

Callie shook her head, and Vera brought her hands up to her mouth. “I’m sorry. The whole town was wiped out by giant ants. The only one left was his son, Brian. I have him with me now.”

“Oh no. That’s awful.” Vera said.

“Now I know it’s a lot to throw at you at once,” Callie said, “but the kid doesn’t have anywhere else to go-”

“Oh, he’ll always have a spot here. Of course. I’ve never met the boy, but he’s family.”

Callie let out a sigh of relief. “Good. He’s just out here.” 

Vera walked quickly out into the hall after Callie and found Brian trying to dust himself off.

“Oh, honey. Oh, you look just like him.” Vera said, her hands over her mouth again.

Brian looked up at her and gave her a sad smile. “Thank you.” He said offering his hand. Vera shook it.

“Come on, you must be hungry. Do you like Mirelurk?” Vera asked. Brian nodded, and looked gratefully at Callie as they walked back into the hotel. Vera looked back as well. “Let me make you something too, Hun. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thanks, and yeah, I can stop by after, but right now I really need to see Dr. Li.”

“Of course. We’ll be here.” Vera said. Brian turned and nearly ran up to Callie and threw his arms around her. Callie smiled. She was touched by the gesture, especially considering how little contact she’d had with children. 

“I’ll be around for a bit, Kid. If this isn’t working out for you, you say the word, okay?” She said in a low voice.

“Thank you.” Brian said, sounding more emotional than she’d heard him. Maybe the shock was finally wearing off.

“Don’t worry about it. Just be safe.”

Callie took about four steps away from the hotel when a wave of pain hit her, making her acknowledge how horrible she was feeling. She’d been holding it together all day, and now that she was able to relax, she was also letting herself feel all of the various injuries she’d been accumulating. She staggered sideways, reaching out with her good hand to steady herself against a wall. 

“Is everything all right?” A voice asked from behind her. She turned, and the motion made her head spin. It was the security chief again.

“Oh yeah. I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.” She said, trying to smile.

“There’s a clinic not far from here.” He said, sounding almost annoyed.

Callie straightened up and let go of the wall. She smiled at him. “Thanks. But I really need to get to the science lab.”

“If you’re sure.” He said, starting to walk down a different hallway. 

She swayed slightly. “Yeah. I mean, it could be worse-”

The next thing she remembered was waking up in the Rivet City Clinic.


	8. Past.  Out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:  
> Tico Tico - The Andrews Sisters  
> Oh Johnny Oh Johnny Oh! - Orrin Tucker (Bonnie Baker, vocal)

“It looks good, Mata.” Callie said, as her friend looked skeptically around the large room.

“It was supposed to look magical.” Amata said, shaking her head. 

“Well, considering all we had were the same decorations we use for every other event, it’s... yeah, it’s magical.” Callie replied with a laugh. It was the night of their graduation, and they’d spent the last two hours decorating the atrium for the dance that had just started. Dragging the jukebox out from the cafeteria had taken longer than they’d hoped, even with Andy’s help, and the final product felt underwhelming to both of them.

Amata frowned. “Nobody’s even dancing.”.

“I’ll dance with you.” Callie offered with a smile.

“Oh, very funny.” Amata replied. She was right, though. It wasn’t a big party, but so far the only two who were up and dancing were Susie Mack and Freddy Gomez.

Callie nodded towards the couple. “How long has that been going on, anyway?”

Amata put a hand on Callie’s shoulder. “I think just today. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not.” Callie replied, crossing her arms and leaning back on the wall behind them. She and Freddy hadn’t been together for months now. If he wanted to be with Susie, then she could have him. 

Callie smelled the pomade before she saw him, but from the doorway on the other side of Amata, Butch had appeared. “So the freak’s with Susie now. That’s a hell of a step up.” He said with a snicker.

“Butch, for one night in your life, can you just shut up?” Callie asked, rolling her eyes.

“Ooh, sorry Nosebleed. Did I hit a nerve? Did he leave you high and dry?” He asked with a laugh.

Amata scoffed. “Go away. Please?” She asked, turning to glare at Butch.

“Whatever you say, Sweet Cheeks.” Butch said, taking a step towards Amata rather than away. Callie bristled. She pushed herself away from the wall and went to stand between him and Amata.

“Are you looking for another punch in the mouth, Butch? Is that it?” She asked in a low voice.

Butch sneered. “I ain’t afraid of you, so don’t talk shit unless you mean it, Girly.”

Callie stepped closer, balling both hands into fists. They hadn’t fought since the G.O.A.T., when Callie had all but knocked him out. He’d left her alone for a while, and she foolishly thought that would be the end of it, but here he was again. Butch gave her a smug smile and pointed across the room, where Officer Mack was talking with a nervous looking Jonas.

“And don’t forget, starting today, we’re grown ups now. Which means getting in trouble gets you sent to the brig instead of home to daddy. Is that what you want? Nosebleed?” He taunted. 

Callie considered her options for a moment, then have him a shrewd smile. She grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved him through the doorway and into the hall outside. “I’ll risk it.”

“Callie, don’t.” Amata said, stopping her with a hand on her arm. “You’ll both get in trouble.”

Callie laughed bitterly. “Come on, Amata. You know this’ll get pinned on me either way. At least this way I can get a few good hits in.”

Amata let go of her arm, but didn’t follow her out into the hallway. Butch was waiting for her on the opposite side of the wall than she had expected, and quickly stepped into her path and punched her in the stomach. Callie keeled over, but was able to twist out of the way before the next blow landed. She dodged and jabbed him in the ribs.

“Fuck.” Butch said. His hand shot out and grabbed hold of her hair and pulled, hard. Callie grimaced. If that’s how he wanted to play it, fine. She leaned into him, stomped on his foot, and then elbowed him hard where his shoulder met his torso. He loosened his grip long enough for her to twist free and regroup.

“Enough!” 

The loud voice of Officer Mack startled them both, but while Callie froze, Butch took the opportunity to get one last punch in, hitting her square in the nose. She let out a yelp and grabbed her face as Butch laughed. Callie’s eyes started watering immediately from the impact, and as Butch started to tease her about crying, Officer Mack grabbed them both by the back of their shirts and hauled them off to the overseer’s office. Callie wiped her eyes and she was shoved along. What an asshole. 

“So. You think fighting is appropriate behaviour, do you? At your age?” The overseer said to them from behind his desk. Callie was angry but not surprised that he was only addressing her. She wiped the small trickle of blood from her nose onto her sleeve.

“With all due respect, Sir-” Callie started calmly, but was cut off when the overseer slammed his hand down on his desk, causing the large bowl of jelly beans he kept there to rattle.

“Respect?” He spat. “What would you know about respect, Miss Elliot? You haven’t shown the least bit of respect for me in your life. It’s not in your blood.”

Callie held her tongue before she said something she’d really regret. Besides, the overseer wasn’t finished. He stood up from the desk and slowly walked to the window overlooking the atrium. “Do you have too much free time now that your classes have finished? Is that the problem? Should I put you on kitchen duty as well as your regular work?”

He looked out the window while Callie glared at his back. Too annoyed to keep the impulse in check, she reached out in front of her and grabbed a few of his candies, popping them into her mouth before he turned back. To her surprise, Butch stifled a laugh. She looked at him while she chewed. His sneer was gone, and he had a wicked look in his eye. Despite herself, the side of her mouth quirked into a smile.

The overseer, seeing none of this, and beginning to pace in front of the large window, went on. “Or is kitchen duty too simple a task for the doctor’s little girl, who thinks she can flaunt her way past all her rules.”

Callie shot another look at Butch, who gave a slight nod of the head. She reached out, and as quietly as she could, took as large a handful of jelly beans as she could and emptied them into a cargo pocket of her vault suit. The overseer was still talking, but neither of them were paying attention now. Butch made a show of cracking his knuckles, before carefully grabbing a handful for himself and shoving it in an inside pocket of his Tunnel Snakes jacket. They shared a smile this time, both trying not to laugh. 

“...since it is your graduation night, I’ll give you this kindness.” The overseer continued, sitting back down at his desk, “But one step out of line, and I guarantee you’ll be cleaning out the sewer lines for the rest of your days.”

“Yes, Sir.” Butch said, making a show of looking serious.

“Yes, Sir.” Callie repeated, looking down.

The overseer gave them both a tight, artificial smile. “Go back to the dance. Enjoy yourselves, in a respectful manner.”

They both nodded and left, walking side by side out of the office. As soon as the door hissed shut Butch laughed.

“What a prick.” He said. “I’d like to kick him in the balls ‘in a respectful manner’.” He said, mocking the overseer’s tone.

“Yeah well, get in line.” Callie said with a snort.

“I thought you liked the guy, but that was actually pretty funny.” Butch said with another laugh.

Callie stopped. “Are you serious? You thought I-” She shook her head. “Him and Wally are the only one’s who pick on me more than you do. You know that, right?”

Butch looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. You’re so close with Amata, and you’re such a goody goody when you’re not mouthing off-”

“And you’re an asshole whether you’re talking or not.” Callie said, cutting him off. He laughed.

“See? You’re okay once in a while. That’s all I’m tryin’ to say.”

Callie blinked at him. “You gave me a bloody nose not ten goddamn minutes ago. You think I give a damn what you think of me?”

He smiled at her, more genuinely than usual. “Nah, I don’t think you do. But either way I’m... you know, sorry.” He said. Callie narrowed her eyes.

“For what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. All of it.” 

She started walking again, he stayed at her side. “I’m not saying let’s be best pals or whatever...” 

Callie laughed bitterly and looked away. “But I was a jerk to the overseer, and that makes me cool now?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He said. She snapped her head back to glare at him. He had that same wicked look in his eyes as before. “With all due respect.” He added with a smirk. She couldn’t help herself and smiled back, reaching as she did into her pocket and shoving a handful of jelly beans into her mouth.

They made their way back down to the gym. Someone had turned the music up, and the sounds of horns drifted into the hall.

“So, what now?” Callie asked. They weren’t friends. One shared moment didn’t make up for a lifetime of bullying, but there was something there. Some little click that said “We’re in this together.” It wasn’t romantic, or even necessarily friendly, but it was something.

“I don’t know.” He said, shoving a handful of jelly beans into his own mouth. “Wanna dance?”

She smiled. “In a respectful manner?”

His eyes lit up. “Hell no.”

\----

Callie woke up in a medical cot. She blinked at the ceiling a couple of times before a man with glasses and a lab coat came into view.

“Hi, there. I’m Dr. Preston.” He said. “You fainted in the hallway outside the clinic here.” 

“I did?” Callie asked. Everything still felt kind of fuzzy. “I’ve never fainted before.”

“Well, you were pretty dehydrated, irradiated, and you have a small fracture in your right arm. That combination can take a person down fairly easily.” 

Callie raised her arm to find it in a splint. “Oh.” She said, examining it. It was fastened well, and would probably keep steady so long as she did. “Thank you.”

She realized suddenly that she was not wearing her jacket. She jolted upright and looked around.

“Easy now.” Dr. Preston said, as Callie tried to blink away the stars in her eyes. “Everything you had is right next to you on that chair. The chief brought it all with him when he carried you in.”

Callie cringed and leaned back down. She brought her left hand over her eyes and groaned. “Carried? That’s a hell of a first impression to give the man in charge.”

Dr. Preston nodded, then turned away from her. “You should rest now. It’s Callie? That’s what the boy called you.”

“He saw me faint too? Great.” Callie said, then after a moment, she grew concerned. “He was with me all day. If my rads were high than his might-”

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Preston said. He had moved to a desk in the corner and was just sitting down. “I’ve already checked him over. Vera took care of everything.”

“Good.” Callie said with a sigh. She checked the time on her Pipboy. It looked like she’d only been out for half an hour. She brought the Pipboy up to her face and twisted one of the knobs with her teeth to check her vitals. She was all but free of radiation, it showed trauma to the right arm, but nothing else of note. “So I’m doing okay now?” She asked.

“You should stay the night here for observation, but you can go as soon as you feel ready.” Was the reply. He sounded distracted now, and she could here him typing at his computer.

“I don’t have a ton of caps on me-” Callie started.

“Not to worry.” Dr. Preston said with a wave of his hand. “As I said, Vera took care of everything.”

Callie let out another sigh and relaxed into the cot. It was nice to lie down with a ceiling overhead. As much as she hated to admit it, it was as close to being back in the vault, and even with all she’d endured there, it had still been home, and she was not above getting homesick. She let herself doze off, feeling a sense of security in this place that she hadn’t felt outside of Megaton.

When she awoke the next morning, Callie could hear Brian talking to the doctor. She sat up slowly.

“Callie!” He yelled, running over to her. “Are you okay? You fell right over.”

“Hey, Kid.” She said, blinking at him and smiling. “I’m all right. Nothing a few vitamins and some actual sleep haven’t fixed.” She stretched. She did feel better, and definitely stronger. It made her wonder if Rivet City had better stimpaks. 

The relief on Brian’s face made her smile again. “I hear I’ve got Vera to thank for this.” She said. 

He nodded vigorously. “Yeah. I didn’t even have to ask her. She said she likes helping people. I like her a lot so far.”

“Yeah, that’s a pretty good sign.” Callie said. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and hopped down, grimacing at her bad arm.

“How long do I need to wear this, Doc?” She asked, testing her range of motion. She could wiggle her fingers, and move her elbow freely, but her entire forearm was wrapped.

“Five days, two stimpaks per day, then come back and I’ll have another look.”

Callie started to swear, but stopped herself when she looked back at Brian. She cleared her throat instead. “So shooting and fighting...”

“No. You shouldn’t be doing any of that.” He said, sounding annoyed. “That should be obvious.”

“And if I have no choice?” Callie asked. She’d delayed so long already.

“Then it won’t heal properly.” Dr. Preston said. Callie frowned again. 

“Well. I guess I’ll have to figure that one out, then.” She said. She’d passed a sign for a marketplace, and wondered if anyone there had a Powerfist.


	9. Not Right, But Not Her Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Oh What A Beautiful Morning - Peggy Lee  
> I’m Tickled Pink - Jack Shaindlin

After dropping Brian off at the hotel and thanking Vera, Callie followed the signs down to the Rivet City science lab. There were several people working there, most wearing lab coats, and none of whom were her father. She stepped down into the main area of the lab, but before she could ask anybody anything, and older man in a suit blocked her way and started talking quickly at her.

“Whoa, slow down, Sir.” Callie told him. “You’ve lost your robot?”

“Not robot, Android!” He said with a loud huff. “It’s entirely different. It looks like a man, but is the rightful property of the Commonwealth.” 

He sounded agitated, and for reasons she couldn’t place, she didn’t like his tone. “Why did he leave?” She asked.

“IT left because of a programming malfunction, which makes it dangerous.”

“Hmm...” Callie said. “I’ll keep an eye out, but that’s about all I can do right now.” She said. She wasn’t that desperate for work that she needed to take a job from someone who gave off a creepy vibe. As she walked past him, she caught the eye of one of the lab workers, who gave her a look that made it clear that Callie wasn’t the only one the old man had been pestering. She walked up to that woman.

“Just ignore Zimmer. He’s been here for days and won’t rest till he annoys us all to death.” She said, in full earshot of the old man, who let out another huff. Callie smiled.

“Sorry to hear that. Um, I’m looking for a Dr. Li?” She said. 

“That’s her right there.” The woman said, pointing to another, slightly older woman in a lab coat. Her eyes widened when she saw Callie.

“My God, it’s you. It has to be, you look so much like your parents.”

Callie was taken aback. “You knew my parents? Both of them?”

She could see the muscles clench in Dr. Li’s jaw. “I did, a long time ago.”

“And James, my father. Have you seen him lately? Last I heard he was heading this way.” Callie asked. Her heart was in her throat, and she tried not to sound too desperate. 

Dr. Li shook her head before looking back up at her, annoyed. “Yes, he was here. I can’t believe he wants to start up the project again. It’s a fool’s errand, and I told him so.”

Callie was lost. “The project?”

“Project Purity.” Dr. Li said, then raised her eyebrows at Callie’s blank expression. “You don’t know? He never once in twenty years mentioned Project Purity?”

Callie tensed up, feeling as annoyed as Dr. Li sounded. “He left me in a vault without telling me a lot of things.”

Dr. Li sighed and checked her watch. “We were building a purifier. Large scale. It was supposed to outfit all of D.C. with clean water.”

“That’s... ambitious.” Callie said. “Why didn’t you finish? What happened?”

Dr. Li turned back to her work and sighed. “You happened.” She said, pouring a vial of chemicals into a larger beaker. “You said he left you? Well, he left us first. After Catherine died, James took you away with next to no notice. Without either of our lead scientists, the project was abandoned.”

“I had no idea.” Callie said in a low voice.

Dr. Li looked back at her. She seemed impatient, like she wished Callie would go away. “He came and left two weeks ago. He said he was going to the memorial to see what was still there. I told him it was overrun with super mutants, but that didn’t seem to phase him at all.”

Callie swallowed hard. “Which memorial?”

Dr. Li picked up a clipboard and started writing. “Jefferson.”

Callie nodded. “Thanks.”

Dr. Li didn’t say anything else, and Callie wasn’t about to stick around. It wasn’t a fun feeling, having someone else know more about her life than she did. It made her feel like she had when she’d first left and got steamrolled by Moriarty. She walked back to the other end of the ship, following signs to the marketplace. It was a lot to process. Obviously Dad had a life before the vault, and she shouldn’t have be surprised that he was working on something that would help people, but it was still a shock. It made her wonder how well she actually knew him, and that thought in itself hurt about as much as a punch to the stomach.

The marketplace put a smile back on Callie’s face. She could see vendors setting up their shops, and the smells coming from the nearby restaurant made her mouth water. She meandered through the aisle of shops till she found one that sold weapons. She took all the odds and ends she’d collected out of her pack and did some trading with a man named Flak. He took everything she had to sell, and in exchange for that and forty-five caps, sold her three pulse grenades, some scrap metal, and a battered-looking powerfist. 

She walked back to the restaurant, ordered breakfast from a friendly guy named Gary, and sat down at one of the tables. After setting her new weapon down on the table, she rummaged through her pack for her small tool set. It didn’t take her long to find and open the control panel on the side of the powerfist and discover that the main problem was that it was full of rocks. Callie started picking out the rocks with her screwdriver as a shadow fell over the table. She looked up to see Chief Harkness.

“Feeling better?” He asked. He stood almost at attention, but there was kindness in his eyes.

“Thanks to you, I’m told.” Callie said, smiling to hide her embarrassment. She motioned to the chair across from her. “Can I buy you breakfast? It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you, but I just ate at Vera’s.” He said.

“Sure. But really, I appreciate the help... again.”

The chief nodded. “Don’t worry about it. You sure scared that kid you brought with you, though.”

Callie ran her good hand over her face, feeling guilty. “Poor little guy, he’s been through a lot.”

The chief smiled. “He told me what you did for him. That’s admirable.” He pointed at her arm. “It sounds like you’ve had your share of problems yourself.”

“We would have had it a lot worse without a sniper watching out for us.” She said, returning his smile.

He let out a small laugh and looked away, brushing off the compliment. “I do what I can. Did you find who you were looking for?”

“Nah. But I have a new lead.”

He nodded, and turned to leave, but hesitated. “You’re the one they keep talking about on the radio, aren’t you?”

Callie cringed. Three Dog had been generally complimentary in his oft repeated announcements. While she didn’t mind the bolstering of her reputation, the one he’d been playing most recently made her out to be a sad lost child looking for her Dad. Callie wasn’t crazy about that, and the embarrassment she’d felt earlier came rushing back.

“Yeah, but I mean, he exaggerates.” She mumbled. 

“Well, it sounds like you’re doing some good out there. I’ll keep my ears open.”

“That’s... a really nice thing to say.” Callie said. Gary came by with her food then, and Callie made some space on the table.

“I’ll let you eat.” The chief said.

“Thanks again.” Callie called as he walked away. Yeah, she liked this place. The people here, if not friendly, were at least polite. They didn’t know or care about her history, and she was just as much of an outsider as everybody else. She’d thought it was just Megaton that was like that, but she was starting to understand that the way people had treated her in the vault hadn’t been normal. That their anger and distrust had been less about who she was, and more about where she’d come from. It made her angry and relieved at the same time. It wasn’t right, but it also wasn’t her fault.

The food was good, which was another nice surprise. She took her time eating, mostly out of the necessity of only using her left hand. After finishing her meal she returned to fixing her powerfist. Once she’d fished all the rocks and dirt out of the inside, she reattached a few loose wires and had it in working condition. She loaded it back into her pack and scooped the rocks up and put them on her dirty plate. After a moment, a waitress came by to take everything away. She paid her bill and returned to Flak.

“Back already?” He asked in a gruff voice.

“Yep. You wouldn’t happen to loan out any welding equipment, would you? Or a drill?”

“Nope, but there’s a work bench over in the corner there,” Flak said, pointing across the large room. “It’s free to use, and you should find most of what you need.”

Callie smiled. “Even better.” She walked over to the bench. Sure enough there were a bunch of tools and equipment. She could make this work. She emptied her pack of the scrap metal and the powerfist, along with the random assortment of screws and bolts she’d held on to during her travels.

It took her hours to finish her work with only her non-dominant hand, but by the time she was starting to feel hungry again, she’d finished her elbow brace attachment. She tried it on for one last test. It folded out from the powerfist on a makeshift hinge, fitting over her arm so her elbow took the impact instead of her hand or forearm. She’d filled the inside with an old shirt for padding, and it felt about as comfortable as it was going to get. She gave a few punches at the air, and was satisfied with the results. When she turned around, Callie realized she had an audience. Several people were looking at her with interest, including a couple of the shop owners. She raised the powerfist up near her face and gave a faux military salute. She grinned as Flak’s raspy laugh echoed off the halls. He walked up to her, followed by the owner of the next shop, a man wearing an almost comically large motorcycle helmet.

“Smart thinking.” Flak said. “I might rig something like that up if my arthritis ever gets bad.”

“Well, once my arm heals, I’d be happy to sell it back to you.” Callie said, still beaming from the positive attention. The man in the helmet laughed.

“An inventor and a businesswoman. You’ll get along just fine here. The name’s Seagrave.” He said, extending his left hand. She wiped her own off on her pants, and shook his hand. “If you ever need anything for one of your projects, come see me. I’ve got just about everything.”

“Callie. And thanks, I’ll do that.” She said. She carefully took the powerfist off and folded the attachment back so it fit in her pack. The two men walked back to their respective stores as Callie cleaned up her workstation. She headed back to Gary’s for lunch. There was a brahmin burger on the menu that seemed like a great way to celebrate the work she’d done.


	10. Getting Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Stardust - Nat King Cole  
> I Ain’t Got Nobody - Louis Armstrong

After a solid three hours in the Jefferson Memorial, Callie was finally sure she was alone. Dr. Li hadn’t lied when she said the place was overrun, but her new weapon had worked just as she’d hoped. Her forearm wasn’t any worse for wear, and except for some expected elbow pain and the exhaustion that came from fighting mutants, she was doing all right. She was thankful for those boxing lessons her father had insisted on giving her. She wasn’t sure how many sledgehammer she would have been able to dodge without them.

She sat in a chair in a small room in the basement, listening to her father’s voice on holotape explaining his next move. Hearing his voice after months of being on her own affected her far more than she’d ever admit out loud. So much so that she had to play the tape over again to process any of the information. 

So, he was going to another vault. Callie hoped they’d given him a better welcome than 101. The tape was dated a week and a half ago, which surprised Callie. She wasn’t that far behind him now. She tucked the holotape into her pack and stood up to have another look at the room.

It was strange, being in the place where her parents had worked together. She stood and walked slowly around the room to the lockers on the far wall. She opened one and found a tattered lab coat with an embroidered “Elliot” and an half-full bottle of whisky. Her father’s. The locker next to it was locked, and took Callie nearly five minutes to break into. When it finally opened, Callie found herself in front of a full locker of her mother’s things. On the inside of the door was a faded colour photo of a group of scientist in front of the memorial. She could pick out Dr. Li and her father, and between them was Catherine. Callie had only seen one picture of her mother, and it was a blurry cut-out of her face. This was all of her. She wore a lab coat, but stood out from the rest because of her hair, which was dyed a bright crimson. Callie ran a hand through her own faded blue hair and let out a laugh that sounded more than a sob. Both her parents were smiling, and each had a hand on her mother’s pregnant belly. She was beautiful... and happy. 

Once Callie was able to tear herself away from the photo, she returned to the inside of the locker. She pulled out another lab coat, and the pair of stretchy maternity pants behind it. There was a bottle marked Prenatal Vitamins in a handwritten label, and a couple of sweaters that Callie thought might even fit her. At the bottom of the locker was a large pack. She hoisted it up and sat back down in her chair to go through it. Inside was an unloaded pistol, some medical supplies, two chemistry books, a mauve lipstick, and a large folding knife with Catherine engraved on the hilt. Callie ran her hand over the engraving, and opened the knife. It looked well-used. So, like her father, she wasn’t just a scientist either. 

 

The bag itself was older, but more sturdy than what Callie had, and with better weight distribution. She emptied her things into her mother’s pack, along with everything in the locker, and hefted it onto her back. It would make things a lot easier having this.

As Callie took the photo off the locker door and put it in the inside pocket of her jacket, Callie felt a surge of anger towards her father. She took the bottle of whiskey from his locker and took a long drink. He’d kept so much from her. How much more did she not understand about her own life? She shrugged off the thought as best she could, and headed back to the entrance, stepping over the remains of super mutants as she did.

The walk back to Rivet City was uneventful. It was the middle of the night, so she went straight to the common room, falling asleep almost immediately on one of the free cots. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk when she woke up the next morning, so she left early, avoiding the marketplace, and stopped only when she was in front of the nearby metro station. As much as she didn’t like the tunnels, it was the best way to avoid too much attention. She had a long way to go, and she knew she’d have to stop in Megaton first. So far she’d been vigilant in injecting stimpaks into her right arm, but she wanted a doctor to have another look at her before she ventured into unfamiliar territory. 

She took her time, stopping three times, twice to eat, and once just to rest. She arrived back to Megaton at 11:30pm. She was getting used to the grueling, harsh days in the wasteland, but her house was a welcome sight. She unlocked the door and slumped down on her old couch.

“Good evening, Madame.” Wadsworth said, hovering down from the upper level.

“Hey, Buddy. It looks good in here. Very clean.” Callie said, waving from where she’d sprawled out on the couch. He’d cleaned the couch along with the rest of the house, and it no longer smelled like dust.

“Why, thank you... Buddy.” The robot butler said, not without a hint of sarcasm. “You appear to be injured.” 

“Yeah, I busted my arm, but I’m okay. Can I grab a water from you?” Callie asked. 

“Certainly.” 

He passed her a water bottle over the back of the couch. Callie had just finished gulping it down when she heard a knock on the door. She checked the time. It was the middle of the night, who the hell could that be? She felt for the pistol she hadn’t yet unfastened from her hip, before getting up and answering the door.

“Andy?” She asked, surprised.

Andy Stahl looked back at her, and Callie wondered if he’d ever looked her in the eyes before now. “Hey, uh, sorry.” He said, shifting from one foot to the other. “I was just shutting everything down outside of the Lantern and saw you get in. Thought I’d bring you a peace offering.” He held out two beers.

“A peace offering?” She asked, not opening the door any wider.

He actually looked guilty. “Yeah. Or, not so much a peace offering as an apology.”

Callie considered a moment, then stepped back. “Come in.”

He stepped inside, still looking uncertain. Callie shut the door behind him.

“So... Leo told me what you did for him.” He started.

“What did he tell you?” Callie asked cautiously. 

“He says you were the one who convinced him to go clean, and to actually tell us why he’s been acting so fucked up.” He said, looking around the room instead of at her. Wadsworth disappeared into the kitchen. 

“Yeah? And how is Leo doing?” Callie asked, feeling less wary now. 

“He’s good.” Andy said, looking back at her. “I mean, he’s had some rough days, and he hasn’t been working as much, but he’s pretty damn good. We’ve been pulling in a lot more money, and when he is working, he gets a lot more done, and hasn’t broken anything in a while.” Andy smiled. “He’s even got a girlfriend now.”

Callie hesitated. “Yeah? Who’s that?” 

“I don’t know if you know her. Lucy West. Nice gal.” He said, sounding proud. 

“Oh. Uh, yeah. I met her once. She seemed nice.” Callie said. So, he’d moved on already. That was fine, Callie told herself. They’d agreed to keep things casual, which was really better for both of them, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t sting a bit. Whatever. She’d had a productive day, and she wasn’t about to let something like that spoil her mood. If he was happy, then that was fine. Just fine. Callie motioned to the beers in Andy’s hand.

“So, what did you bring me?” She said, motioning to the couch and sitting down. 

He joined her and held up the beers. “It’s new. This batch was ready yesterday. I’m going to call it New Leaf. You know, ‘cause of Leo.”

He held one out, opening it first after glancing at her bad arm. Callie took it and had a sip. “It’s good.” She said. “Granted, I don’t know a lot about beer, but I like it.”

“I’m glad.” Andy said, looking away from her again. “I really owe you big. I’ve got my brother back for the first time in years. I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“Well,” Callie said, “You could be nicer.” He looked at her and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah. You’re right. And I’m gonna, but it’s sucks, you know? When you can’t trust your own brother. I had to be responsible one, and keep everybody in line. it made me hate this whole place.” He said, his voice tense. Then he sighed. “But I’m making excuses. I’ve been a jerk to everyone lately, and... I’m sorry. I don’t want to do that anymore.” 

Callie raised her eyebrows, and had another drink. It was unexpected, but she appreciated what he said. Callie couldn’t dislike him as much if he was actively trying to be better. They were both silent for a moment, before Callie laughed to herself. “You know, when I was fifteen, my friend and I tried to make our own beer.”

“Yeah? How’d that go?” Andy asked.

“Oh, real bad. It got us drunk, but when my dad found out, he said we hadn’t made beer so much as poison, and made us dump it out.” She said with a small laugh.

“Did you get in trouble?”

Callie shook her head. “Nah. He was laughing too hard to punish us. Hell, I think he was proud. He didn’t even tell her dad on us, which was good, because he probably would have had me locked me up for the rest of my life.”

Andy leaned back against the couch. “At fifteen? Isn’t that kind of harsh?”

“That’s the vault for you.” Callie said with a shrug. “But really, if they’re going to give us a textbook that explains how to make alcohol, they shouldn’t get too surprised when we make alcohol.” 

Andy smiled at her. He looked different without his usual scowl on his face. It was a good look. “What happened to your arm?” He asked.

“Super mutant outside of Rivet City. It’s better now.” She said, trying to sound causal.

“So it doesn’t hurt?” 

Callie chuckled. “Oh it hurts, but a lot less than it did yesterday.” She held up her beer. “This is helping.” She said, taking a long pull from the bottle.

“Good. It’s really the least I can do.” He said. “I mean, Leo hasn’t been this clear headed in years. We’re even planning this big trip out to Canterbury together for supplies, which we haven’t done in... God, I don’t even remember.” 

“I’m glad.” She said. He reached for her empty bottle.

“I don’t want to keep you, but thanks for listening.” He said, standing up. She followed him back to the door.

“Thanks for coming by. And for the drink.” She said, opening the door. He walked out, but turned back.

“Anytime, Callie.” He said with a smile. “You’re... really something.”

Callie laughed. “Better than being nothing, I guess.” 

He laughed as well, but when the smile faded off his face, it was replaced with a far more intense look. Uh oh, Callie thought. It was time to say goodnight before she did anything stupid. Andy might be easy on the eyes, but he was still Leo’s brother.

“I’ll see you around, Andy.” She said.

“Yeah. See you.” He said. She shut the door and leaned against it. What was that all about? That last look was... intriguing? She’d never considered Andy in that way before, but then again, she’d never seen that he could be a decent person before. It felt wrong to even be thinking about that. Then again, a voice in the back of her mind said, it’s not like she owed Leo anything. He did have a girlfriend now. She shook her head and pushed herself away from the door. Maybe he looked at everybody like that, and she was just being ridiculous. 

There was another knock on the door. 

“Um...” Andy started after Callie opened the door. He trailed off, and just stared at her again. She wasn’t sure who stepped forward first, but then they were kissing. Then they were upstairs. Then it was the next morning, and he was still in her bed. Oops, Callie thought. So much for not doing anything stupid.


	11. Don't Wake Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Good Morning - The Puppini Sisters  
> Someone To Watch Over Me - Frank Sinatra

“Well, what do you think?” Callie asked.

“It’s hardly my place to say, Madame.” Wadsworth replied as he rinsed her freshly dyed hair in the sink. 

Callie turned slightly to look at the Mr. Handy. “Yeah, but ignoring that you’re programmed to stay in your place.”

“Excuse me for saying so, but I’m not certain you understand how my programming works.” He said, squeezing the blue water out of her hair with his metal grabber.

Callie laughed. “Fine, fine. I’ll go ask Moira.”

Instead of answering, Wadsworth hovered into the main room. “Please sit down on the sofa so I can dry your hair.”

Callie followed him, shaking out her hair as she sat down.

“If I may say so, Madame, perhaps rather than asking ‘am I a slut?’ a better question to pose would be ‘why does it matter to me if I am?’” He said.

Callie laughed again. “You know that just sounds like a yes, right?”

Again, Wadsworth didn’t answer, and started his very loud hairdryer.

Why did it matter, though? So much of what had been instilled in her had turned out to be either wrong or outright lies. She’d been slowly learning to trust her own morals rather than the ones she’d learned in the vault. She was still struggling, but so far her mistakes had been minor and fixable. Even with all her father’s lessons, she wasn’t prepared for the choices she’d had to make, or the lives she’d had to take. She hadn’t even known that there were other ways to live than what the overseer enforced. And anyway, she was a grown up now. She was a homeowner for God’s sake. Why should it matter if she slept with a guy once in a while?

She stayed silent as Wadsworth finished drying and styling her hair. He was far more precise than she’d expected, especially growing up with the oft malfunctioning Mr. Handy back in the vault. 

“You know, you’re right. It shouldn’t matter.” She said.

“Then it isn’t a problem, unless you think it’s a problem.” He said, letting her hair go. “All finished, Madame.”

“You know, you can call me Callie, right?” She said, not for the first time.

“I am programmed to do as you command, but there is also decorum to consider. If “Madame” makes you uncomfortable, would ‘Miss Callie’ suffice?”

Callie laughed. “Well doesn’t that make me sound fancy.”

He paused, and she had to wonder how much he would talk back to her if his programming were different. “Will there be anything else, Miss Callie?”

“Nah, I should get going soon. I’ve got a vault to find. Thanks for this.” She said, running a hand through her hair.

“You’re welcome, Miss Callie. Good luck.”

Callie pulled her jacket on and hoisted her pack onto her shoulders. “Thanks. And no parties while I’m gone.” She said, pointing a finger at Wadsworth, who did not respond. She left the house with a smile on her face. Wadsworth was a poor substitute for a best friend or a father, but she had to admit it was nice to have someone to talk to at her house aside from her recent sleepovers.

She stopped in at the clinic. Doc Church X-rayed her arm, told her the fracture had healed, and that she didn’t have to wear the splint so long as she was careful. She opted not to tell him that she’d been out punching super mutants. He sold her some stimpaks and rad-x and told her to keep a close eye on her radiation levels for the next week.

She left the clinic and walked up to Craterside Supply. Moira was her usual cheery self. “Heya, Hun. How’s the search going?” She asked when she saw Callie.

“It’s still going, but I know where to go next. I just got back from Rivet City. Nice place.” She said, leaning against the counter.

“Isn’t it? I haven’t been out that way in months. Too busy here.” She said, holding up an unidentifiable mess of electronics.

“That reminds me,” Callie said, “have you ever heard anything about a missing android?”

“You know I have. It was a long time ago now, but hang on.” She said, disappearing into the back room and returning with a holotape. 

“The poor thing. It sounds like he was a runaway looking for help. There wasn’t much I could do, but here.” She said, handing the tape to Callie. She downloaded the tape onto her Pipboy and handed it back.

“Thanks.” Callie said. She bought some canned food and said goodbye to Moira. She left town without talking to anyone else. Despite her earlier assertion, there was no way she was going to show her face at the Lantern.

Andy had left early that morning saying things like “you’re great” and “this was fun” but didn’t mention anything about seeing her again. Callie didn’t mind at all. It had been fun, and surprisingly tender for a man who was a jackass most of the time, but Callie still wasn’t interested in anything more than having fun. Maybe things would change once she found her father and didn’t spend half her time worrying. Maybe then, and with the right guy, she’d be up for actually dating somebody. 

It was a bright, hot day. She looked up and took a deep breath, letting the sun warm her skin. It was a feeling she didn’t take for granted. The heat lamps in the vault were nothing like the actual sun. She took her time getting to the garage. She’d never been much further west than the vault, and she was being as cautious as she could. There were still plenty she hadn’t seen yet. Gob had told her all about deathclaws and yao guai, and while she’d fought her fair share of what she’d nicknamed ‘demon bears’, she still had never met a deathclaw. 

She listened to the holotape recording as she walked. It didn’t give her any information as to where to find the android, just that he was looking for help. She’d have to look into this further. She didn’t see any deathclaws on her trek, but she did have to deal with radscorpions, mole rats and two yao guai. She arrived at the abandoned garage tired and sweaty, but unharmed. 

After spending a little too long looking for clues in the garage, she found the button she was looking for, which opened a secret door. She found herself in front of the entrance to Vault 112 and her stomach twisted. She had no idea what to expect. Were all vaults the same inside? That’s what she was taught, but now she wasn’t so sure. The door looked similar enough, with a large painted 112 on the front. She approached the console next to the door, and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened, rolling to the side to reveal a similar set up to her childhood home. The hum of the vents and the machinery was a noise she didn’t know she’d missed until she heard it again.

With her rifle at the ready, Callie stepped inside. It was quiet, which was also a surprise. She cautiously made her way through two doors when a robobrain rolled up to her. She aimed her rifle, but it wasn’t hostile.

“Welcome to Vault 112. You are 202 years late.” It said. It handed her a vault suit and ushered her through to the next room. She walked down a set of stairs to what should have been the atrium, but was instead a room full of large pods.

“What the hell?” Callie muttered to herself. Another robobrain greeted her, and told her to sit down and relax in one of the “Tranquillity loungers”. Callie approached one of the pods and jumped when she saw what looked like a mummy in a vault suit. It was thin, and nearly ghoulish. There was a computer terminal beside the pod, which she activated. To her horror, she discovered that the person in the pod was still alive. They were preserved by the sealed pod, and plugged into some kind of simulation. Callie looked back at the lounger in horror. 200 years late, the first robobrain had said. These people had been kept alive since the war, far longer than anyone ever should be alive. Callie doubted they’d ever be able to survive outside the pod. 

She walked back up to the robobrain. “What happened here. What went wrong?”

“Vault 112 is functioning at optimum levels. Please sit down in your tranquility lounger and relax.” It said.

Callie walked around the room, looking into the other pods. Several were empty, but most of them were filled with people in similar conditions as the first. She’d nearly made her way around the room when she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Dad?” She whispered, approaching one of the pods. “Dad!” She yelled. It was him, lying motionless like the rest of them. She looked at his terminal. Unknown male, slightly elevated vitals. There was no clear way to turn it off. She hurried back to the robobrain. 

“How do I open the loungers? I need to get him out, now!” She said, panic in her voice.

“Warning. Opening a tranquility lounger without the express permission of Overseer Braun will neutralize the resident. Please sit down and relax. The simulation will begin shortly.”

“You’re kidding me.” Callie said. “How could anyone-”

“Please sit down and relax. The simulation will begin shortly.” It repeated.

Callie swallowed hard and looked at one of the empty loungers across from where her father lay. “Okay.” She said. She walked back to her father’s pod. “I... don’t know what else to do.” She said to him. 

She walked over to the empty lounger and climbed in. Maybe this was the worst thing she could possibly do, but she saw no other way. As the pod closed around her, her heart was beating in her ears. At least she’d found him. At least she’d done what she’d set out to do. Her Pipboy lit up and beeped as it connected to the chair, and a voice inside the pod once again told her to relax. She rested her head against the seat as it hummed to life. There was a light in front of her that kept getting brighter. When it finally faded, she found herself in a perfect, pleasant little neighbourhood.


	12. Elliot, James Elliot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Who's Sorry Now - Dean Martin  
> I'll Get By (So Long As I Have You) - The Ink Spots

Callie sat motionless as her pod opened. She saw a second open nearby. She wanted to look but she felt frozen against the chair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure hop out of his pod and take long strides towards her.

“You did it, Sweetie.” James Elliot said. “Christ, I thought I was trapped forever by that madman.”

Callie swallowed hard. She still couldn’t look at him. The sheer number of conflicting emotions running through her was threatening to overwhelm her. 

“But what are you doing here?” Her father continued, “I wanted you to stay in the fault, how did you-”

“They came for me. Two minutes after you left they came for me with guns drawn.” Callie blurted. It wasn’t the way she’d planned on starting this conversation, but she hadn’t planned on mercy killing a whole room full of people either, but that was the way the day was going.

“What?” He asked, shocked. “How could they do that? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “They killed Jonas, the Holdens, Mr. Lewis... I don’t know who else. They shot at me as I left.”

Her father put his hands on the side of her pod. “If I’d known, if I’d had any idea-”

Callie clenched her jaw and picked up her things before stepping out of the pod. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m out, and I’m never going back.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Callie. Truly.”

She stepped back and shook her head. “I don’t know what to say to that. You lied to me. You lied to me my entire life. I’m so angry but...” She looked up at him for the first time. “but I’m just so happy to see you, Dad.” 

She hated the way her voice shook. Before she could say any more, James stepped forward and hugged her. “It’s all right now.” He said calmly. “I’m here now... thanks to you.”

Callie laughed against his shoulder. There wasn’t a thing in the world that was more comforting than that. She felt him touch her pack. The one that had belonged to her mother.

“So, you’ve been to the purifier.” He said. She stepped back again and he gave her a warm smile. “She would have wanted you to have it.”

Callie looked away, and her eyes fell on the other pods. “I need to get out of here.”

“Yes. I need to get back to Madison Li at Rivet City. Braun may have been a sadistic shite, but he was brilliant. I know what I need to do now. I can get the purifier working.” He said, with more excitement than she was used to seeing in him. “Think of it. Clean water in the basin, you’ve been there now, you know how desperately this is needed.” He smiled. “The waters of life-”

“Freely.” She finished. “I remember.”

He reached out and held loosely by her shoulders. “I want you there when we finish it. To see what this was all for.”

She couldn’t help feeling torn by what he said, but she nodded. “Okay. Let’s get back to the city.”

“It will be dangerous.” He said. He had his own large pack with him, and out of it he drew an automatic rifle. She noticed for the first time that he was also wearing a set of brass knuckles. She shrugged.

“I know.” She said, pulling her own rifle off her shoulder. She turned and left the way she’d come in, with James following close behind her.

The sun was setting, and the sky was full of pink and orange. Callie wasn’t surprised. She’d been in that creepy simulation for hours. She cracked her neck and walked back out into the wasteland.

“There’s a huge raider settlement over that way, we’ll have to head south for a while.” She said.

“It’s called Evergreen Mills. It’s been there for a long time.” James said, falling into step beside her.

“Right.” She said. “I forget you know this place better than I do.” 

James paused beside a dead animal. “This is a-”

“Yao guai. I know. Who do you think took it down?” Callie said with a bit of a smile. James nodded approvingly.

“Two shots to the head. Impressive.” 

“I was taught well. Even if I had no idea what I was training for.” She said, starting to walk away.

He caught up with he again. “I wanted to tell you.” He said in a low voice.

“Yeah? Well you should have. Did you have that little trust in me?” She said. She knew she sounded harsh, but she didn’t care.

“It wasn’t you I didn’t trust, Callie. It was the overseer. He had strict rules that I had to follow in order to stay, and if he had any idea that you knew, he would throw us both out.”

Callie didn’t answer. She scanned the horizon in front of her and kept walking.

“I wasn’t going to keep you in there forever. As soon as the purifier was finished I was going to come right back for you. I just wanted to make it safer out here before I did.” He said. “And I was wrong.”

She looked at him, but now he was the one looking away. “I’m furious at the way you were treated in the vault,” he continued, “but I’m so grateful that you made it out. I would probably have been permanently trapped back there if not.”

There was so much Callie could say to that. She wanted him to hurt the way she had. To tell him that if she’d known why everyone thought she was different, it would have helped her feel less like she was the one doing something wrong. She wanted him to know that she nearly died ten times over since she left. But they had time to talk about all of this, and she wasn’t about to push him away on the same day she’d finally found him.

“Is your... accent stronger?” Callie asked instead.

James let out a hearty laugh. “When I came to the vault, I was told by Almadovar that I had to speak like an American. I did my best, but I was never very good at it.”

Callie blinked at him. “Are you? An American, I mean. I don’t actually know.” 

He looked guilty. “Yes. My parents were Irish, and so was the community where I grew up, but I am american.”

Callie had about a million follow-up questions for that, but they were interrupted by at least four raiders running towards them. Callie took off running towards them, her father raising his weapon and firing, knocking the first two down. Callie got in close to a large man with a ripper. She dropped her pack as she pulled out her powerfist, securing it to her arm. The raider jabbed at her with the ripper, but Callie sidestepped and swung her arm, hitting the man with enough force to knock him unconscious to the ground. She spun around as another raider got close. This guy had a combat shotgun, which he shoved right in her face. She knocked it out of the way with the side of the powerfist as he fired, and brought her left elbow up and smashed him in the face. He loosened his grip on the weapon, and Callie flipped his shotgun all the way around and fired. The raider’s head nearly exploded with the impact, sending blood flying. Callie shielded her face but still ended up with a spatter across her cheek.

With an apprehensive look, Callie watched as her father walked towards her. She wiped the blood off her face with the bottom of her black tank top as he approached. To her surprise, he looked... proud?

“You are so much like your mother.” He said, starting to walk again. Callie stood in place, stunned. She shook it off after a moment and grabbed her pack. She pulled her rifle off her shoulder, made sure the safety was on, and put it in her bag. The shotgun was in great shape, and she’d wanted to get her hands on one for months now. She caught back up with her father.

“How did she die?” Callie asked.

He sighed. “I know there have been a lot of lies, Sweetie. But I told you the truth about the sort of person she was. As for the way she died... that was true as well. You were born at the purifier. We didn’t have the equipment, or the right...” He trailed off.

“I’m sorry.” She said.

“So am I.” He answered quietly.

They walked in silence for a while. Callie had so much to ask that she didn’t know where to start, and every time she tried they’d come across another raider camp. Her father was a better shot than Callie, and she was surprised and impressed at how easily he moved through all the chaos. 

“Tell me more about her. About... Mom.” Callie said when it looked like they’d be left alone for a while.

Her father nodded. “Your mother was a brilliant engineer and scientist. She was also someone you never wanted to be on the other end of an argument with.” James smiled to himself. “She was a bit of a troublemaker too... but then again, at the time, so was I.” He paused for a moment. “And she cared deeply about the people around her. The purifier was her idea.”

They walked in silence for a while again. Callie was once more at a loss for words despite her mind still feeling overwhelmed. In those few sentences she learned more about her parents than she had in twenty years. They kept moving, not too fast, but without stopping until nightfall. 

“This is the citadel.” James said as they drew near to the large building.

“Yeah, the Brotherhood base.” Callie said.

“You’ve had dealings with The Brotherhood of Steel?” He asked. Why he kept sounding shocked was beyond Callie. What did he think she was doing out here?

“Yeah. Went downtown, met The Lyon’s Pride. Took down a behemoth with them.” She said with an exaggerated shrug.

James stopped in his tracks. “What?” He asked sharply.

Callie turned to face him. She thought he was angry, but he looked devastated. He shook his head. “I should have brought you with me.”

“Yeah.” She said flatly. “You should have.” She repeated. She started walking again. He fell into pace with her after a few moments. It would have been easy to yell, but she knew he already got the point.

“So.” He said after clearing his throat. “A behemoth. How was that?”

She smiled. It was a story she was happy to tell. She went over in great detail the whole day. From meeting the sentinel, to crashing into the fountain, to the nuke that took it out. James listened, and Callie could tell he was trying not to look too horrified.

He sighed. “I will always worry about you, Callie, but I’m happy to see you’ve done so well out here.”

“Yeah, well... I’ve done what I could. It never really feels like enough.” She muttered.

The ship came into view and James let out a laugh. “Oh it’s good to be back here.” He said. “Once the purifier is working all of this is going to change. It will bring so much good for these people.”

Callie studied him closely as he spoke. It was getting really hard to stay mad at him. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I want you to be there when we start it up. I know you’re making your own life out here, and I won’t get in the way of that. You’re an adult now-”

“Dad.” She said, cutting him off. “Of course I’ll be there. I want to help.”

He laughed and hugged her. He was a large man and nearly knocked her off balance, but Callie was used to that.

They arrived at Rivet City after the marketplace had closed, so they walked up the stairwell into the corridors of the ship. “There’s so much out here I need to show you,” James said, “and as soon as my work here is finished we’ll talk, really talk, about what our next steps will be. For now, I need to get started as soon as possible.

“Alright. I mean, I wasn’t exactly planning a big road trip.” Callie said. 

They were nearly at the science lab when Dr. Zimmer and his bodyguard blocked their way.

“Have you found anything yet?” He asked Callie, stepping far too close to her.

“Haven’t really had time to look.” Callie said with a curt smile. She didn’t back up. She knew if she did he would see that as a weakness, and she wasn’t about to be pushed around by this man, no matter who he was.

Zimmer held out a holotape. “Here. Listen to this. Here it is talking about escaping. Maybe that’ll help you.”

“Thanks.” Callie said, taking the tape and putting it in her pack. She’d learned one or two things out in the wastes, and she knew better than to tell him anything before she knew the whole story. 

“Let me know the minute you find something.”

“Will do.” Callie said with a salute. She stepped around him and kept walking. Her father looked at her questioningly. “He lost his robot.” She said, knowing full well Zimmer was still in earshot.

“Android! Not robot.” He yelled after her.

“Yep, alright.” She replied dismissively without turning back.

James chuckled. “That was a bit rude.”

Callie smiled. “He was rude first. And hell, if I’m rude, it’s your fault.” 

James laughed as he opened the door to the science lab. The lights were low, and it was empty save for Dr. Li, who was hunched over a microscope. 

“James!” She said when she saw him, standing up. She sounded astonished. Callie took note of that reaction.

“Madison, I’ve done it.” James said, striding easily down the stairs and over to her. “I know how to complete the purifier.”

“Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?” She asked. Her voice was firm, but not unhappy.

“I am.” He said. “With a few modifications and a few rare supplies, we could have it up and running in... a month?”

Dr. Li sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. Callie sauntered up and looked between the two of them with interest.

“Okay, James,” Dr. Li said quietly, “if you say you can do it, then I believe you. I’ll have my team start preparations tomorrow.”

James smiled brightly. “Excellent, thank you. You’ve met my daughter, Callie?” He said, motioning for Callie to come closer.

“I have.” Dr. Li said. “How is your arm?”

Callie cringed. “All healed. No trouble there.”

“What happened to your arm? What happened to her arm?” James said, whipping his head between the two of them.

“Nothing.” She said, holding her arm out for him to inspect. “I broke it, but it’s fine now. Minor fracture, and I was cleared to use it yesterday. It’s fine.”

“Is that why your powerfist is covered in scrap metal?” He asked, feeling over the bones of her arm.

“Hey, I only had one hand to work with. I thought it looked pretty good.” She said.

“You shouldn’t have been using it.” James said, frowning. “You certainly shouldn’t have been fighting-”

“I’m fine, Dad.” She said, meeting his eyes. “Really.”

“Okay. Out of the lab. Both of you.” Dr. Li said, her blunt manner back in full force. “I have a million things to do tonight.”

“Of course. Thank you again.” James said, gently pushing Callie back towards the stairs. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

“Not too early.” Dr. Li called after them as they left. James chuckled under his breath as they walked back into the corridor.

“Come. I want to see if the Weatherly is still in business.” James said, digging in his bag for a smaller satchel.

“It is. Why?”

“You need a good night’s rest as much as I do.” He said as she followed him up the hall.

“It’s not cheap, Dad.” She said.

“That’s not a problem.” He replied, patting the satchel in his other hand, which jingled with the sound of caps.

“Oh shit, are we rich?” Callie asked with a grin.

“Not at all, but I have more than enough to make sure you get some rest tonight. Call it a thank you for the rescue... and the start of my apology for the last two decades.” 

Callie nodded. “Well, when you put it that way.”

It was just past ten o’clock when they walked through the lobby door of the Weatherly. Vera was nowhere to be seen, but Brian Wilks sat on the desk talking to their Mr. Handy. He hopped off at their approach. “Callie!” He yelled, coming around to the other side of the counter.

“Jeez, Kid. How are you already taller?” Callie said as he walked up to her. He had a big smile on his face, and looked happier than she’d ever seen him.

“Is this... is this your dad? Did you find him?” He asked earnestly.

“I did. James Elliot, Brian Wilks.” Callie said.

Brian held out his hands, which James shook. “Callie saved my life, Sir. Like, five times in one day.”

James smiled. “Yes, that does sound like something she would do.”

“Are you renting rooms now?” Callie asked.

Brian lit up. “Yeah. I mean, with help.” He said, pointing at the Mr. Handy. He straightened up and cleared his throat. “How may we be of service today?” He asked. The line was well rehearsed, and Callie had to hide her smile.

“Two single rooms, please.” James said, opening his satchel to count out caps.

“Vera said that if you came back to give you the preferred guest discount, isn’t that right, Mr. Buckingham?” Brian said, lightly pushing the Mr. Handy.

“That is correct, Sir.” Mr. Buckingham said, sounding a little annoyed. “The cost will be 180 caps for both rooms, please.”

“That’s fine.” James said, placing the caps on the counter once he’d finished counting.

“Thank you, Sir. Enjoy your stay.” Mr. Buckingham said, passing Brian two keys.

“Please follow me. I’ll show you to your rooms.” Brian said, walking out into the hall. The Elliots followed. 

“So, you’re still liking it here?” Callie asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t think I want to be an innkeeper when I grow up, but it’s safe, and Vera’s real nice to me.”

“Good.” Callie said. Yet another thing she didn’t have to worry about anymore.

Brian showed them to two rooms at the end of the hall. “Should you need anything, someone will be in the lobby.” He said with a slight nod of his head. His tone was pretty close to Mr. Buckingham’s. Callie took out a few caps and pressed it into his hand.

“Thanks kid.” She said. He looked down at the caps, hesitant. “Take it. Buy something that’ll rot your teeth.”

“Thanks, Callie. Mr. Elliot. Goodnight.” He said, and jogged back towards the lobby.

“I’d hoped you’d made friends out here, but I expected them to be a little closer to your own age.” James said.

“He’s a good kid who lost his dad. He needs friends more than I do.” Callie said, cracking her neck.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, so was he.” 

James yawned. “You would think after being in that simulation for as long as I was, that I’d be more awake.”

Callie grinned. “So I guess you could say that you’re... dog tired?”

“Easy now, you know you’re not too old to be grounded.” James said with mock annoyance.

“Hah.” Callie replied. “I’d like to see you try.”

They smiled at each other, and for a moment everything felt normal again.

“Good night, Sweetie. I’ll see you in the morning.” He said, the way he usually had every night back in the vault.

“Night, Dad.” She replied, closing the door to the small room.

Her father may have been tired, but Callie was still too alert to fall asleep right away. She laid down on the single cot in the room, which was easily five times more comfortable than the ones in the common room upstairs. There were no springs digging into her side, and the bedding was soft and clean. She tried to relax. Her arm didn’t hurt anymore, and although she was exhausted from a day of traveling and fighting, she felt physically better than she had in a long time. Her mind, however, was all over the place. She still felt angry. There was so much she still needed to ask her father, and even more that she hadn’t told him about herself. She understood his point of view, but he’d just done it all wrong. She hadn’t forgiven him yet, and wasn’t above telling him so, but tonight they were in the same place, and safe.

With a sigh, Callie reached for her pack, which was on a chair next to the cot. She found the tape Zimmer gave her and played it. This recording was the man in question. He sounded angry and desperate. A caged man trying to get away from his captor. “Self determination is not a malfunction.” He’d said. Callie played the tape twice more. Man, fuck Zimmer, she thought. There was no way in hell she was going to turn the android in now, even if she did find him. With that poor man on her mind, she eventually drifted off to sleep.


	13. Dad's Busy, Go Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> You Do Something To Me: Ella Fitzgerald  
> A Good Man Is Hard To Find: Bessie Smith  
> A Lover’s Concerto - Ukulele Picnic (shut up, it’s cute)

Callie woke up angry. Who the hell was pounding on the door? She fought her way out of her sheets and staggered to the door.

“What?” She said as she pulled the heavy door open. Brian Wilks stood fidgeting on the other side. She blinked at him. “Mornin’.” she said

“Hi. Your Pa said to wake you up if you slept past eleven, and it’s uh, after eleven.”

Callie looked blearily down at her Pipboy. 11:15. “Shit.” She said, then covered her mouth. “Oops, sorry.”

“I know all the words, Callie. I’m not a baby.” Brian grumbled.

Callie had already turned around and started rooting through her bag. “Do you know if my dad went back to the lab?” 

“Uh, yeah. I think so.” Brian said. “I like him. He listened to everything I said. Not a lot of people do that.”

“Yeah. He’s cool like that.” Callie said, pulling out a grey tank top and smelling it.

“And you’re okay?” Brian asked. He was a smart kid, and seemed to have good instincts about people. It made Callie happy that he seemed to be doing alright.

“I’m good. Really good, actually.” She said, nodding at him. “Now get outta here so I can change.” 

“Okay. See you later.” He said, shutting the door.

After Callie ran her brush through her hair and changed, she left the room feeling content and rested. She saw Brian down the hall talking to two younger kids. He waved at her, and she nodded in return. When she turned back around, she saw Chief Harkness walking down the hall towards her.

“You have a fan.” He said as he approached.

Callie shrugged. “He’s a sweet kid.”

The chief gave a slight nod. “He’s been well behaved since you brought him here.”

“Do you get a lot of trouble from children?” She teased. 

“No, just from the kid he’s talking to.” The chief said, looking stern again. The kid looked over and stuck his tongue out at them before looking back at Brian. The chief shook his head disapprovingly and crossed his arms before looking back at Callie, who had to suppress a laugh. “I’m told you found your father?”

“Word travels fast, huh?”

He nodded. As much as he was paying attention to her, he was also scanning the hallways as if a monster could burst through the wall at any moment. Callie couldn’t help thinking he needed a drink, or at least to loosen up a little. “Around here people get starved for good news. I hope you don’t mind talking about it.”

Callie smiled and shook her head. “I don’t, especially now that I found him. Plus, if the last month has been any indication, everyone will hear all about it on the radio in a week, anyway.”

“Right, Three Dog. Your other fan.” He said.

“Hey, I have more than two fans. Just last week someone came up to me in Megaton and gave me a can of beans for turning off the nuke.”

He chuckled, which in Callie’s opinion was generous. He looked past her again, as Brian and the other two kids ran off down the hallway. 

“Okay, I’m gonna go find my dad, which should take a lot less time than yesterday.” She said. 

“All right.” He said, walking at a fast pace after the kids.

Callie entered the science lab feeling lighter than she had in a long time. Inside, she found the whole team gathered around Dr. Li and her father, who was addressing them. Based on their facial expressions, there seemed to be a mixed reaction to what he was saying. Callie hung back, not wanting to interrupt. 

“...but it is possible, and I can’t think of a more worthy cause.” James was saying. “We will do this, but we can’t do it without your help and expertise. Thank you.” 

He stepped back, and Dr. Li stepped forward. “As I said before, this isn’t mandatory, but know that if you don’t participate, I will be very disapointed.”

The team laughed. So, Callie thought, she does have a sense of humour. Callie stepped forward then to stand beside her father, who put a hand on her shoulder.

“This is my daughter, Callie. She’s also here to help us.”

“Hey.” Callie said, waving. Two people nodded at her.

“You should all know what needs to be done.” Dr. Li said. “Talk to me or Dr. Elliot if you don’t. I’ll be in my office trying to sort through twenty year old notes.” 

The team dispersed, and James gently shook her shoulder and laughed. He looked at ease here, and she hadn’t considered that maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d felt stifled in the vault.

“So, what’s going on today?” Callie asked.

“Nothing terribly exciting, I’m afraid.” He said. “I have a lot of planning to do before we even start to look for the GECK we need-”

“Oh, I could go do that.” Callie offered.

“No. It’s far too dangerous...” He said, trailing off when he saw her roll her eyes. “I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself. You’ve proven that well enough,” He continued, “but searching through vaults isn’t something anyone should do alone, if recent experience has taught me anything.”

Callie sighed. “Fair enough.” She said. “What should I do, then?”

He looked around and considered. “Well, Sweetie, you have been looking for me for a while now, why don’t you take some time for yourself?”

“Is this just you trying to keep me out of harm’s way?” She asked, taking a step back.

“No, this is me noticing how exhausted you look and thinking you should go find some fun.”

Well, this wasn’t what she’d expected. She felt annoyed, and knew he could tell. He put his hand back on her shoulder, and she resisted the urge to shrug him off and walk away.

“I’m not trying to get rid of you. There is just so much to prepare. When I have a job for you, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

“Okay.” She said lamely. What else could she say. “I’m uh, supposed to be looking into the history of this place anyway, I’ll go do that, I guess.”

He nodded at her, and had the sense to look a little guilty, which placated Callie for the time being. Annoyed as she was, she couldn’t feel too upset. She didn’t know much about making a water purifier, and she knew she would probably be a better helper when it came to actually putting the thing together. Plus they were safe, she repeated to herself. It wouldn’t hurt to work on Moira’s history project for a while, and it gave her a good excuse to poke around the city.

She started at the marketplace. It was just about lunch time, and the smell of the restaurant reminded her that she hadn’t eaten yet. She caught Gary’s eye, and he waved her over as she got close.

“I heard you found your pop. Good for you.” He said.

“Man, I don’t get to tell anybody my good news.” Callie said, snapping her fingers in an exaggerated display of disapointment.

Gary nodded. “Sorry. We love good news around here. We don’t get a lot of it.”

“That’s what the chief said.” Callie said, taking a seat at one of the barstools in front of the counter. At the other end was Flak who nodded at her as well. Callie took a quick look at the menu before ordering the same brahmin burger she’d had before.

“How’d that powerfist work for you?” Flak asked.

Callie grinned. “Great. I like it too much to sell it, but if you got the parts I’ll make you another one.”

He raised the beer he was drinking to her. “Thanks, but I don’t need one. Glad it didn’t fall apart on you.”

“Nope, it’s still good. So, here’s an odd question.” She said, looking between Flak, and Gary, who was wiping down the counters as Angela cooked. “Do either of you know much about the history of this place?” 

“What, the city?” Gary said. 

“Yeah. My friend’s writing a book and wanted me to see what I could find out.”

“Hmm,” Gary said, “Angie and I have been here about seven, maybe eight years. I don’t know too much except that it’s a military boat that the scientists took over at some point. I’d go talk to Bannon. He likes to think he knows everything.” 

“It’s a start. Thanks.” She said, before looking at Flak.

“I don’t have a better answer for you.” He said, taking a sip of his coffee instead of looking at her.

It wasn’t long before Gary set her meal in front of her. Callie let herself eat slowly before going over to Potomac Attire. Bannon and the rest of the marketplace all had similar answers to Gary. The next logical step would be to talk to the scientists, but she didn’t want to annoy them now. She wandered around the ship talking to people, and ended up at the filthy bar in the lowest deck of the ship with a beer in her hand.

“You could make stuff yourself, and there were a few other outfits that we were allowed to use for certain things, with approval, but most of the time, yeah, we wore the vault suits.” She was saying to a very drunk woman around her own age who had a lot of vault-related questions.

“Shit.” The woman said, drinking from the bottle of scotch she carried. “That sounds... shitty.”

Callie shrugged. “Yeah, but when you don’t know any other way... no. No, you’re right. It was shitty.” Callie said, taking a long swig of the beer. It was surprisingly okay. She spoke to the woman, who had also grown up underground, for longer than she intended, and ended up buying another round of beer. She then had a snarky conversation with both the bartender and the bouncer before climbing back up to the main deck. Everything she’d learned pointed her to the same person: Pinkerton. The jury was out on whether the man was even alive, but Callie made it her goal to find out. 

She left the city and walked around to a rusty old door on the side of the broken bow. Try as she might, the locked door was beyond Callie’s abilities. She straightened up from where she crouched in front of the door and looked around to the side of the ship. Callie could swim, but learning to float in the small lap pool in the vault wasn’t the same as diving into freezing cold irradiated water. Callie stood by the water’s edge, considering. She could swim up there and have a look, and see if there was anywhere in the sunken part she could get through, but with her pack she knew she would sink like a rock. With annoyance, she retraced her steps back around and up to the city, and to the lab.

The science lab was a flurry of activity. She found her father pouring over a worn diagram with two of his team.

“You’re back.” He said.

“Yeah. Is there a place I can keep all my junk while I’m here?” She asked, looking around at all the people working.

“Yes, excuse me for a moment.” He said to the people with him. He led her to an alcove in the corner. It had several cots like the ones in the common room upstairs. James pointed to one of them, which had his pack underneath it.

“I’ve set myself up here. Madison has said that you’re welcome to stay as well. There are several more empty cots. The team isn’t nearly as big as the one we had twenty years ago.”

“Great, thanks.” Callie said, pulling her pack off and setting it down on the next bed, which had nothing around it. 

“How’s your history project coming?” He asked as she sat down and started looking through her things.

“Not bad. I’m getting there. How’s your first day?” She asked.

He hesitated. “So much has changed. The advancements these people have made are remarkable, and we’re trying to work out how to apply new technology to a twenty year old dream, it’s going to be endlessly complex.”

Callie studied him for a moment and smiled. “You’re having a great time, aren’t you?”

He chuckled. “Is it obvious?”

“It is to me. I’m glad.” She said. She had removed three doses each of Rad-X and Rad-Away, and stored all her weapons in her bag save for her combat knife which she kept at her hip. Then she shrugged off her leather jacket.

“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” James said. “If you say you left the same day I did... when on earth did you join the Tunnel Snakes?”

“Oh.” Callie said, still holding the jacket. “I didn’t... not really. Butch gave this to me after I saved his mom from some radroaches just before I left.”

The lighthearted look on James’ face twisted into guilt again. As an afterthought, Callie pulled out her mother’s folding knife.

“This is neat.” She said.

“That was your mother’s first knife. It was given to her by her grandmother when she was young.” James said fondly.

Callie unfolded it and examined the blade. “Never had an heirloom before. How is it for mirelurks?”

“What exactly are you doing?” James asked, his tone wary.

“Goin’ swimming.”

“Not in the basin you’re not.”

Callie zipped her mother’s knife into one of the pockets on her green cargo pants along with the meds. “I won’t be long.” She said, giving him a wry smile. He looked like he was going to argue, but instead he sighed.

“Be careful, Sweetie. I mean it.” He said. 

“I will.” She promised. She stood up, now dressed in only a gray tank top and cargo pants, and followed James back into the main area of the lab. She waved goodbye, and walked back outside. 

She injected herself with the first dose of Rad-X before getting into the freezing water, and as she did she wished she’d had one more beer before she’d started. After the first shock of the water started to fade, she swam out to the submerged part of the bow. After some tense trial and error, Callie found a door she could open and swam through.

Gasping for air, she looked around the small room. It was similar to the rooms in Rivet City but far more rusty, and the water came up to her hips. She waded over to a table that was mostly out of the water and hoisted herself on top of it. With shivering hands, she tried to rub some circulation back into her arms and legs before stopping suddenly. There was something in the hallway outside. Drawing her combat knife from her hip, she reluctantly slid back into the water. It was a degree or two warmer inside the ship, but it was still horribly unpleasant. Slowly, she walked towards the door. She heard a loud, distinct gurgle. Mirelurks. She peaked around the corner, and came nearly face to face with one of the creatures. It jumped like Callie scared it, then started for her. 

Callie backed up into the room to give herself more space. The mirelurk was just through the door when Callie heard gunfire to her left. She looked and saw a wire controlled shotgun trap she hadn’t even noticed. If not for the mirelurk, who was still coming her way, she would have been shot in the back. She shook off her shock as the mirelurk came in range. The buckshot had left a few holes in its shell, but it was still moving fast. Callie waited until it was close enough to grab her, and stabbed it hard in the face. It screeched and pulled back, but Callie followed, pushing the knife harder until her slimy opponent stopped moving.

Once she knew it was dead, she turned and waded over to the shotgun. It was much older than the one she’d recently picked up, and was now unloaded, but she took it anyway. If there were people setting deadly traps in here, a knife or two not be enough to scare them off.

Cold as she was, Callie moved slowly out of the room and into the hallway. She disarmed two traps, and nearly blew her leg off avoiding a third, but she finally made it to what looked like a living space.

“Hello?” She called.

“That’s my gun.” Said a grizzled old man, pointing to the shotgun in her hands.

“It nearly killed me.” She said.

“Yep, that’s what it’s there for. For people like you who can’t take a hint. What do you want?”

Callie shrugged. “Depends. Are you Dr. Pinkerton?”

“Who wants to know? And if you think I’m leaving-”

“Hey, nobody said anything about leaving. I was just told that Dr. Pinkerton knew more about the history of Rivet City than anyone else.” She said, holding up a free hand defensively.

“Yeah? What else did they tell you?” Pinkerton said, putting a hand on his hip. He seemed more grumpy than dangerous, which made Callie relax some. 

“Well,” she started, “the ones who didn’t think you were dead told me that you helped found the city. One person said that your perspective was the only one worth listening to, another said you were a brilliant scientist, and one guy who I’m pretty sure was high said that you liked to switch people’s faces. I figured I should come and hear the truth for myself.” 

She gave him a cheesy smile, and hoped he had a sense of humour. He looked her up and down before throwing up his hands.

“Fine, fine. But I want that gun back.”

“Of course.”

His voice was more gruff than his manner. He gave her a towel and offered her a cup of tea which she gratefully accepted. He had a lot to say, and Callie wasn’t surprised to hear that he hadn’t had a lot of contact with the outside world beyond the occasional caravan. Once Callie’s teeth stopped chattering, she started grilling him on the city. When Pinkerton found out Callie’s questions were for a book she was researching, he opened up far more than she’d expected. He told her all about founding the city, of his ‘disagreement’ with Dr. Li, and how he was here in exile because of it. 

It was a good talk. Pinkerton was an interesting man with a brilliant mind. He showed her around his lab, and the projects he’d been working on. He had no interest in the purifier, and Callie didn’t press, but he was working on a few interesting theories about energy sources. When Callie started to feel like she was overstaying her welcome, she shook his hand and thanked him for his time.

“You... you’re a good kid. If you want to come back and talk, you’re welcome.” He said.

“Thank you. I will.” She said. He led her to the door, the same one she couldn’t crack open earlier.

“You can leave this way. When you come back, knock twice, then four times, and I’ll come down. Do it loud, or I won’t hear. If I don’t come out in five minutes, then I’m too busy.”

“Fair enough.” Callie said. Before he could open the door a thought crossed her mind. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have heard anything about an escaped android, would you?”


	14. Artificial Intelligence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Paper Moon - Ella Fitzgerald and the Delta Rhythm Boys  
> When You Wish Upon A Star - Kate Smith

There was nothing misleading about the words on the terminal. Nothing that left any doubt about the true identity of the android. Callie stood stunned in front of Pinkerton’s computer for a long time. “But that’s the chief.” She finally sputtered.

“Not a bad job, if I do say so myself.” Pinkerton said, pride in his voice.

“But...” Callie said, trailing off. She re-read the notes for the third time. How could it be Chief Harkness? There was nothing in his manner, in his way of speaking, nothing at all that was any kind of clue. Sure, she thought he needed to loosen up, but she’d met people who were way more tightly wound. Amata was more tightly wound. She shook her head and looked back to Pinkerton. “This is hard to wrap my head around.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He said, taking a sip of tea. “The ears were the hardest part. Changing them just enough without making them stand out. That’s a true test.”

Callie stared at him blankly, still blown away. “And he has no idea.”

“Not at all.” 

Pinkerton went on to describe the failsafe he’d built in that could reactivate his memories, and the code needed to do it. He was even happier to talk at length about this than Rivet City.

“Are you going to tell him?” Pinkerton asked once he’d explained his process.

Callie bit her lip. “Would you?”

Pinkerton thought for a moment. “It would be a bit of a waste, considering how hard I worked to bury them. It depends on how much danger you think he’s in, and how much danger you want to put yourself in by telling him.”

She liked that answer. It showed her that Pinkerton actually gave a damn about him, and it gave her hope that he might not blab out his secret to just anyone. “Yeah,” She said, still pouring over the files. “I’m gonna have to think about that.” 

She blinked at the screen for a few moments more before she turned back to Pinkerton. “Thank you for this.” She said. “I’ll let you get back to your work.”

“You know where to find me if you ever want to come back for a cup of tea. Or if you need any facial reconstruction done.” He said. Callie didn’t love how often he glanced at her nose during that last sentence, but was still too dumbfounded to be properly annoyed.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said, heading back towards the door. He followed her, and locked the outer door behind her. She looked skywards with closed eyes. The sun was hot despite the weather getting colder lately, and she appreciated the way it warmed her damp and freezing skin. She walked slowly back towards the bridge to the city. She was really going to have to think about this. If she made the wrong choice, she’d be ruining his life. 

Instead of going through the marketplace, Callie took the stairwell up further than she’d been before to one of the outdoor platforms along the side of the ship. It was windy, but still warmer than inside. There was a balcony ahead, with a couple of chairs and what looked like half a radio. She headed that way, but stopped dead when she heard plasma fire. 

“Chief?” She asked, far too loudly. He looked up from where he was crouched by the side of the wall. 

“Hi there,” he said, getting to his feet. He looked over her wet and freezing form and gave her a curious smile. “Did you fall in?” 

“It was an intentional swim, I just...” She hesitated, before remembering her original reason for her swim. “I was researching the history of the city. It led me to Dr. Pinkerton. Interesting guy.” 

Harkness looked surprised. “I’ve never met the man, but once in a while when I’m up here, I catch him dealing with the caravans. Dr. Li has plenty to say about him if you get her going. Was he friendly?”

“Sort of. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to go visiting. He’s got his place booby trapped pretty well.” Callie said, moving into a spot of sunlight and wringing out her dyed hair, leaving her hand slightly blue. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The chief replied.

“What are you doing out here?” Callie asked, frowning at her blue hand.

“Securing the perimeter. Look.” He said, walking to the rusted old railing and pointing to a spot in the distance to their left. If she squinted hard, she could make out a blur of movement from the far end of the basin, far past the Jefferson Memorial. 

“Is that... nope. Never mind. I have no idea what that is.”

From beside her, Harkness touched the plasma rifle in his arms. “The scope helps. Here.” He said, holding out the gun to her. 

Callie raised en eyebrow. “You sure?” She asked.

“Well, if you turn on me I could always throw you overboard.” He said with a smile.

“Ah, so it’s not that you trust me, it’s that you think you could beat me up if you had to.”

“It seemed rude to say that out loud, but yes.” He said. 

This was as much as she’d ever seen him smile. He still stood as though he’d been asked to stand at attention, and now Callie had to wonder if that was training or programming. He’d always joked lightly with her, but he usually kept an intimidating look on his face when he stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the marketplace. She took the rifle out of his hands. She hadn’t used energy weapons before, but the mechanics of it were similar enough. She propped it up against the railing, looked through the scope, and zoomed in.

“Ah. There they are.” She said. There looked to be an all-out brawl going on between a big group of mirelurks and supermutants. She could easily count six of each fighting and kicking up dirt.

“Isn’t that ridiculous? This happens at least once a week and I have no idea why. I don’t mind thinning the herd for target practice, but it drives me crazy. No one in the science lab is interested in why they do this.” 

Callie smiled against the scope, then looked back up to Harkness. “It’s hard to tell what is normal and what isn’t out here, because to me, nothing really is... but yeah, that’s weird as hell.”

“I can’t even imagine being that far removed from any of this.” He said softly. She felt his words deeper than he intended. It was hard, figuring out a brand new world, but she was dealing with it. Learning she was lied to her whole life was even harder to deal with. How could she put him through something that would be so much worse? Pinkerton was right. It really did come down to whether she thought he was in enough danger to risk tearing his whole world apart. She handed him back his rifle.

“So,” she asked, trying to keep things light, “do you just take them all out or just try to control the numbers?”

He shot an annoyed look at the blur in the distance. “It depends on the day, but I always go for the mutants first. Mirelurks are dangerous, but they can’t pick up a gun.”

“Or throw a car at you.” Callie muttered, earning another smile from the Chief. He propped the gun over the rail the same way Callie had, and looked through the scope.

“It’s hard not to just watch them. Like right now, there’s one of the big ones out there, an Overlord, I think. They’re interesting. They’re stupid and primal, but they’re not animals. The others listen to that one.” He sighed. “It’s a damn shame there isn’t more we can do for them.”

Callie took the opportunity to examine him. He had pours, he had hair on his arms, and he had the faint line of an old scar on the side of his neck that definitely wasn’t surgical. He cared. He cared about the people around him, and he felt for the monsters he was about to kill. She watched him breathe in, and let a long breath go as he fired four shots in succession. 

Callie leaned her hands on the rail, careful to make sure she wasn’t touching anything sharp. “How many did you hit?” She asked.

“Five.” He said nonchalantly, his eye still against the scope.

“Five?” Callie asked loudly. 

He looked at her and shrugged. “Two were standing in a row.”

“Show off.” She said with a chuckle.

He looked back into the scope. “Maybe. I don’t have a lot of other hobbies.” He said, firing twice more.

Callie chuckled. “How many that time? Five again?” 

He laughed, a full, hearty laugh that made Callie grin. “No, just one that time. But here, look now.” He said, passing her the rifle. She zoomed the scope in again. Both sets of creatures were scattering, the mirelurks back into the water, and the mutants back to the city.

“I think I might have a shot, if you don’t mind.” Callie said, tracking one particular super mutant.

“Be my guest.” He said. Callie moved her finger over the trigger and fired. The rifle’s kickback wasn’t bad, but it was still jarring. She looked through the scope again.

“Damn.” She said.

“How many did you get?” He asked. 

“None, smart guy.” She said, passing the rifle back. “That’s a hell of a rifle, though.”

“Thanks. It’s seen a lot of action.” Harkness said, taking out the spent cell and reloading. “If you ever want to get some target practice in, I’m up here about twice a week.”

“I’d like that.” She said. “Thank you.”

She said a quick goodbye to Harkness, and walked back inside. The conflict she was feeling was threatening to bubble to the surface. He was a little tightly wound, but he was a decent man. And he was a man. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a person. On top of the terrible choice she was going to have to make, she was starting to like him, and she had him at a huge disadvantage. How could she be even remotely friendly with him while she held such a whopper of a secret over his head? It didn’t seem right. Still, there was nothing wrong with target practice with an experienced sniper. So long as she was cool about it, everything would be fine, she told herself.

At the science lab, Callie tried to ignore her father’s frown as he watched her try to walk by unnoticed to the side room with the cots. She was sitting on the bunk she’d chosen trying to pull her boots off when he poked his head in.

“How was your swim?” He asked.

“Informative.”


	15. Summer Is Long Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Nevertheless - The Mills Brothers  
> Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat - The Ink Spots

No one outside of Rivet City was as excited about the purifier as Moira. Maybe it was because she was the only person who believed they could do it. In the two weeks since she’d found her father, Callie had barely spoken to him outside of meal times, and even then he spent most of that time pouring over schematics and plans. But everything was about to change. This was the day the whole team was moving back into the purifier. Callie had returned to Megaton the night before with a shopping cart and a long list of odds and ends her father couldn’t get at the marketplace. Moira had a lot of questions, most of which Callie couldn’t answer, but it hadn’t stopped her from asking. They’d been talking about the purifier for the better part of an hour. As excited as she seemed, she’d shied away when Callie invited her to come back to the city with her.

“Oh, those fancy doctors don’t need me poking around their important work.” Moira said. “Once it’s all done, maybe I’ll close the shop for a weekend and come by. I haven’t done that in... gee, I don’t even remember.”

“Okay. I’m gonna hold you to that though. We’ll go for a swim.” Callie said.

Moira looked horrified. “Oh no we won’t. But I’ll be happy to stand next to the water and cheer you on.”

“Deal.” Callie said with a laugh. Once Moira was done asking about the purifier, Callie presented her report on Rivet City. She’d spent a lot of time consolidating everything she’d found into one file, which she downloaded onto Moira’s terminal. 

“Oh, this is some great stuff you have here. I’m going to use all of it. You are getting such a bonus for this.” She said after reading through it. She stood and started counting out stacks of caps.

“Can’t say no to that.” Callie said, feeling proud of her work. It felt like being back in front of Mr. Brotch, and having him shake his head and talk about her potential. She idly wondered if he was okay before putting the thought out of her head. 

Callie left Moira’s with a smile on her face. She glanced briefly down at The Brass Lantern. She hadn’t been back since her night with Andy, and she was in far too good a mood to deal with that awkwardness. She gripped the shopping cart she’d brought, and shoved it along the metal platforms back up to the town’s gate and out into the wastes. As she maneuvered the cart out along the dusty, broken roads, she couldn’t help enviously staring at the broken down cars that lined her path. She wondered, not for the first time, how much work it would take to get one of them running. 

Despite the nuisance of the shopping cart, she enjoyed her walk back to Rivet City. She’d travelled the above ground route enough times to know what to look out for, and she’d cleared the path of raiders and super mutants the night before on her way into town, so even the usual hotspots were quiet. All save for the last camp before the city, where she’d had her arm broken. She drew her shotgun and parked her cart. When she was sure it wouldn’t roll away, she crouched down and approached the camp. 

She could see two super mutants in front of a barrel fire, but this time she had the element of surprise. She got as close as she dared before standing up and firing. The first one crumpled without too much trouble. The second took a bit longer, and while she had to dodge two sledgehammer strikes, she took it down without a scratch. Breathing hard, she smiled, and before she could help herself, looked up at the giant ship in the distance. Sure enough, she could just make out a figure on one of the upper balconies. She gave a casual salute just in case the chief was looking her way.

She went back to her shopping cart, and with a running start, rode it down the hill and towards the city, kicking up a cloud of dust behind her. As she approached the ramp to the bridge, she dug her heels into the dirt and stopped right in front of her father and two of his team members.

“Having fun?” James asked, a large box in his hands. Behind him, one of the other scientist waved a hand in front of her face to ward off the dust cloud.

Callie smirked. “I am. I think I got everything we need too.” She said, pointing to the cart. 

“Wonderful. We’re heading over there now.” He said, placing the box into the cart, and taking it from her. “Allow me.”

They were the last of the team to arrive at the memorial. Some of them had been there for days already, but this was the first time they’d all come together. They found Dr. Li loudly giving orders to two of her helpers on the other end of the room.

“All right, Madison?” James asked, once she was finished.

“Fine,” she said, walking over to them, “just clearing out the dust. I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”

James nodded. “I can’t thank you enough.” He said warmly. She waved him off.

“Don’t be sentimental, James. There’s too much to do.”

He chuckled and turned to Callie. “This way, Sweetie.”

Callie followed him to the rotunda. She hadn’t been inside since she’d first cleared the place out of super mutants, and she wondered which poor sap had the job of hauling the bodies out. The large room was a flurry of activity. She looked up at her father, who looked proud, and happy. His dream was being realized.

“If you’re still game, I have several tasks for you.” He said.

“For sure, but I... there’s something I’ve been putting off, and I need to go deal with today. Can I meet you back here later?”

“Of course.” He said. Callie reached into the cart and pulled out her pack and a bottle of whiskey. Her father eyed the bottle and frowned.

“What?” She asked, blinking at him innocently.

“That’s an awfully large bottle, don’t you think?” He asked in a disapproving tone.

“Yeah. Good thing it’s for you, huh?” She said with her best shit-eating grin.

He chuckled as he took the bottle out of her hand. “On closer inspection, it actually looks a little small.”

“I knew you were going to say that.” Callie said as she hoisted her pack onto her shoulders.

“You know, I’ve been talking to the people here. They all have such wonderful things to say about you. I’m very proud.”

Callie ran a hand through her hair and laughed. “You’re just saying that cause I brought you booze.” 

“And you’re just saying that because you never learned how to take a compliment. But you’re a good person, and it shows.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She said, feeling awkward. “I’ll see you later.” 

She was stalling again. She knew she had to deal with this android situation, and even after weeks of consideration, she still was at a loss as how to handle it. But it had been too long, and she had to dive in. She thought she had her mind made up before she’d left for Megaton, but on her way out, she was stopped by a woman claiming to be with an android resistance. She’d pressed a mechanical component into her hands, and told her to tell Zimmer that the android had died. Like Zimmer, she’d told the woman she’d have to think about it. 

And she had. Despite spending the night before in her own house, she’d hardly slept. Her body was tired, and her mind was all over the place. It was in this state that she trudged up the ramp towards the city. Just before the bridge, she nearly ran into woman who was heading in the opposite direction. 

“Whoa, easy there.” The woman said. She wore metal armour, and Callie counted three different weapons that she could see. Her stance was confident, and Callie had no doubt that she could handle herself.

“Sorry, I was a little out of it.” Callie said, stepping out of her way.

“Hey, are you that vault girl?” The woman asked, after looking her up and down.

“Yeah. Why?” Callie said, standing up a little straighter. 

The woman nodded. “You’re all everybody’s talking about, you and the purifier. That’ll be a hell of a thing if you ever get it going.”

“Thanks.” She said. It was still strange to her to have any kind of positive reputation, but she didn’t shy away from it. “I’m Callie.”

“Sydney.”

“Do you spend a lot of time in Rivet City? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

She shrugged. “Off and on. I spend my time between here and Underworld, when I’m not out relic hunting.”

Callie blinked, impressed. “You’re a treasure hunter?” She said, too loudly. “That’s... neat.”

Sydney smiled at her. “Relic hunter, gun for hire, merc, basically whatever gets me enough caps for a hot meal and a few drinks. Speaking of, you haven’t heard anything about a missing android, have you?”

Callie tried not to freeze. “I did.” She said, trying to keep her tone even. “I heard it was dead.”

Sydney frowned. “It’d better not be. It’s worth a lot of caps.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.” Callie said.

“Right on.” She said, heading for the ramp. “See you around, Vault Girl.”

“Yeah... see ya.” Callie said. She watched Sydney leave. She looked tough as nails. Regardless of the weapons and armour, the way she moved told Callie she was not the kind of person who’s bad side she wanted to be on. Callie nodded to herself. Her mind was made up now. If Callie was able to discover who the chief really was, then who was to stop someone more formidable from doing the same? He was in too much danger not to be told.

She took a deep breath as she walked up the stairwell. When she opened the door to the upper platform, he looked over from where he was sitting and waved to her.

“Nice moves out there.” He called to her as she approached. He motioned to the other metal chair. She considered making a joke about how he meant her trip down the hill with the shopping cart, but decided against it.

“Thanks. I was um, hoping to talk to you about something. Something important.” She said as she sat down in the opposite chair.

His polite smile disappeared. “What’s the problem?”

Callie swallowed hard and looked down. “There’s a man here. His name is Zimmer.”

The chief shook his head. “Yes. I’ve met him. Has he been hassling people again?”

“He’s looking for someone.” She said, then looked up into his eyes. “An android.”

“Yes. That’s what he told me.”

Callie’s throat felt dry, but she continued. “This android had his memory erased and started a new life, but with Zimmer here, it’s not safe...” she trailed off, trying to think of the best way to say this.

“And you found out who it is?” He prompted.

Callie kept her eyes on him. “It’s you, Chief.”

He laughed, but his smile faded when he saw her expression hadn’t changed. “What do you mean, it’s me?”

“I know you don’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me either-”

“Callie.” He said, cutting her off. He leaned forward in his chair. “I don’t know who’s been spreading this information, but whoever it is is wrong.” His voice was calm and even, like he was trying to talk her down from her insanity. He smiled a little. “Trust me. I am a person. I even cut myself shaving this morning.” He said, pointing to a small red mark on his chin.

Callie looked away. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t feel I had to. But please, know that I am sorry.”

“Callie?” He asked, sounding understandably wary.

Callie swallowed hard and looked back at him. “Activate A3-21 Recall Code Violet.”

He twitched, as if there were something in his eye, and let out a grunt, then his expression changed to dawning horror. He sat, eyes wide, not looking at her.

“All those runners...” He said quietly. There was a shake in his voice that made Callie’s stomach twist. “Why? Why would you do this after everything I did to get away?” 

“Zimmer-” she started.

“Zimmer.” He spat. He looked at her. The anger and the pain in his face was clear. Callie hurriedly reached into her pack and drew out the small intricate device.

“I was given this. It’s an android component. If I give it to Zimmer, he should think you’re dead and leave. I can give it to him, or you can, or...”

She held out the component, but he ignored her. He pulled his rifle off of his back and into his arms. Callie tensed. She didn’t think he would hurt her, but then again, everything was different now.

“I’m going to kill him.” He said, rising from his chair.

“Okay.” 

He paused, and looked down at her. “Okay? Just like that?”

Callie stood as well. “From what I understand about how he’s treated androids, he’s a slaver, and I don’t see much point in showing mercy to slavers.”

He closed his eyes tightly and covered them with one hand. “I can’t handle this. Two sets of memories. I remember murdering my own kind just as well as I remember the smell of my ex-wife’s hair. Only she was never really my wife, was she. That was as much of a lie as the rest of my life.” 

“I’m sorry.” Callie repeated softly.

He didn’t respond, and instead looked down at his rifle in disgust. “I’m going to go deal with him. You can come with me or not. It doesn’t matter.”

Callie nodded and followed him back into the stairwell. She couldn’t blame him for being upset, but it was still hard to be on the other end of his anger. He moved so fluidly and with such purpose that she had to jog to keep up with him. The science lab was empty, so she followed him to Zimmer’s rented room at the Weatherly. He pounded on the door loudly, and after a moment, his bodyguard pulled it open.

“Who is it?” Zimmer demanded from somewhere inside.

“Security, Sir.” The bodyguard said. Zimmer came into view.

“Ah, there you are, Girl.” Zimmer said on seeing Callie. “What have you found, or have you still not gotten around to looking.”

Behind her, Harkness closed the door. He stepped between Callie and Zimmer before she could respond.

“Zimmer.” Harkness said. She could tell he was trying to keep his composure.

“That’s Doctor Zimmer, thank you, Chief. Now what is Rivet City going to do about my missing property?”

Harkness twitched. “Property?” He spat.

“It’s dead.” Callie blurted out from behind him. “Your property is dead.” 

She’d intended to stay silent and let the chief handle this, but something instinctual made her speak. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Zimmer said, throwing his arms in the air. Callie handed him the component.

“Here. I found this in Greyditch with the rest of the dead townsfolk.” Callie said. From the corner of her eye she could see Harkness watching her closely. Zimmer just looked annoyed.

“And you needed the security chief to come and tell me this?”

Callie shrugged, feeling more confident in her lie. “Hey, somebody’s got to make sure I get paid. I put the work in. It’s not my fault he was already dead.”

Zimmer scoffed at her, before turning to a table and drawing a small pouch out of a briefcase. “There.” He said, handing it to Callie, who opened it. There were caps inside. She smiled at Zimmer.

“Thanks.”

“What a waste of my time.” Zimmer told his bodyguard, then looked back to Callie and Harkness, neither of whom had moved. “Was there something else? Fifty caps is more than enough.”

Callie looked back. “Chief?” She asked.

He was looking at Zimmer with a hardened expression. “That’s all.” He said. “You should go. You’ll find no more friends here.”

Zimmer looked surprised for a moment, then he settled back into his usual sour expression. “We don’t need convincing. I’ve dealt with nothing but rudeness since I got to this rusted old garbage pile.”

Callie turned and opened the door. Harkness walked through it, and she closed it behind them. They walked in silence down the hallway for a few moments before he turned sharply to her.

“Why did you do that?” He asked.

Callie looked down at the pouch she held. “Look, I was all for letting you kill him, but I don’t know... I just got this feeling like you might regret it.” Nervously, she shifted from one foot to another. “Plus,” she added, “if he died, more people might come asking questions, wouldn’t they?” She stopped herself from saying any more so she wouldn’t babble.

“You don’t know me. You don’t know me at all. Don’t pretend to.” He said coldly. He took the rifle in his hands and dropped it in hers. “Here. I can’t even look at this anymore.”

She wanted to follow him. To say something, anything, that would make this right, but she let him go. If his anger was the price for saving his life, so be it, but it hand’t make his words hurt any less. She looked down at the plasma rifle and felt a little sick to her stomach. 

She slowly walked back to the memorial. She did the right thing, she told herself. Maybe someday he’d even talk to her again, but for now, she was going to focus on helping someone she knew she could help.

“Are you all right?” Her father asked when she arrived back in the rotunda. 

“Fine.” She said, pasting a smile on her face and holding out her arms. “Here I am, Dad. Put me to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. I've loved your comments and appreciated your kudos.


	16. Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> You Belong To Me - Dean Martin  
> Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes) - Edith Piaf  
> One - Aimee Mann

The midday sun shone over the irradiated waters around the purifier. Inside a large pipe nearby, Callie was just finishing repairs to one of the intake valves. Dean Martin crooned through her Pipboy radio and echoed off the walls, and she absentmindedly whistled along. For three solid days she’d been working closely with her father and the other scientists, and had become the resident Ms. Fix-It. She enjoyed the work, and welcomed the distraction. Her talk with Harkness had sent her mood into a nosedive, and it felt good to spend some time in a different place, with different people, all of whom were interesting in their own way. The botanist, Janice Kaplinski, had come from across the country just to work for Dr. Li. She had strange, nearly unbelievable stories about growing up on the west coast. Another older man, a biologist named Williams, had worked on the project twenty years ago. He told her about how in the first year they were working together, her mother had won a drinking contest against her father, and that was the moment everyone knew they were meant to be together. 

In her time in the wastes, Callie was now used to the regular noises: the yelling of the super mutants, the clanking of the protectrons, the groaning of the aircraft carrier as it settled. The sound that was growing ever louder over her head was unlike anything she’d heard before. She turned the radio down and looked out of a gaping hole in the top of the pipe. Dark shapes passed overhead, and after her initial reaction of delight at seeing helicopters for the first time, her stomach clenched. Why was it landing here? Something was wrong.

Throwing her tools into her pack as she went, Callie quickly walked back through the pipe and back into the memorial. Down the hallway, she heard frightened yelling. She pulled her plasma rifle off her back. She hadn’t used it since the chief had handed it to her, but she knew it was by far the most powerful weapon she had. 

From far off, she heard someone yell “Stop!”, before plasma shots rang out. Were they opening fire on the scientists? A nearly blinding panic rose in Callie’s chest. She hurried down the hall and around a corner, nearly running into two soldiers in power armour. One of them noticed her and fired, barely singing the side of her jacket. She ducked back around a corner, and fired back as soon as she had an opening. The weapon was indeed powerful. Anything else would have bounced right off, but the plasma cells burned through the metal of the armour, eventually taking down the soldiers. Callie moved forward again, and more plasma fire hissed past her head. She overturned a metal table as she got close to the gift shop, but it didn’t take long for the soldiers to close in. She recognized the insignia on the side of their armour from the eyebots that patrolled the wastes. These were Enclave troops. She ran ahead, feeling the heat of plasma as she passed. She turned and fired behind her. A soldier fell, and was immediately replaced by another. How many of them had come?

By the time she reached the rotunda, her rifle was empty. She knew she had more microfusion cells in her pack, but for now she threw the rifle on her back and drew the pistol on her hip. She took the stairs two at a time up to the control room, nearly tripping as she hurried. When she got to the top, she froze. Inside the sealed control room stood two soldiers, her father, Janice, and a tall man in a long tan coat. Beside her, on the other side of the glass, stood Dr. Li.

“I will not repeat myself. Hand over control of this facility.” The man was saying.

“Dad?” Callie said under her breath.

“Don’t let them know who you are.” Dr. Li said to her in a harsh whisper, her eyes still on the scene in front of them. Her father was talking now, calmly but firmly telling the man that the purifier wasn’t operational. Instead of listening, the man drew his weapon and gunned down Janice. Callie heard a sharp yell from Dr. Li beside her, but she couldn’t look anywhere but at her father as he calmly tried to talk down this murderer. 

“There’s no need for more violence, Colonel.” He said. The man he was talking to, the colonel, had his back to Callie. He shifted on his feet.

“Then you will immediately hand over all materials related to this project, and aid us in making it operational at once.”

“No.” Dr. Li said quietly beside her.

“Very well. Give me a few moments to get the system online.” James said. He met Callie’s eyes for a brief moment and gave her a reassuring smile, before turning his back to her and pressing some buttons.

“Wait... what is he doing?” Callie asked, as a loud explosion went off inside the control room, filling it quickly with gas. “No!” She screamed, rushing to the window and slamming her open hand against the glass. The man in the tan coat stumbled and fell, as her father stepped over him to the window. He put his hand against Callie’s as she watched him gasp for air.

“Run, Callie. Run!”

He collapsed to the floor, dead. 

“Dad?” She yelled. “Dad!” Without thinking, she raised her pistol and fired twice. The bullets ricocheted off the glass, but Callie didn’t even move. 

Dr. Li grabbed her arm. “What the hell are you doing? You’ll kill us all! He’s gone.” 

Callie pushed her away. “No. No, I won’t leave him-”

Dr. Li slapped her hard across the face. Callie turned, furious, pointing her gun at the doctor. Dr. Li stop firm and didn’t flinch, but there were tears building in her eyes. “He’s gone, Callie. He’s gone and we have to go. We have to save who we can, and I can’t do this without you.” She yelled. 

It was enough to snap her out of it. Callie nodded, and holstered her pistol. With shaking hands, she reached for her pack and found all the cells she had. “Where do we go?” She asked as she shoved the extra cells in her pocket and reloaded her plasma rifle.

“This way.” Dr. Li said, as three of her team rushed in the room.

“Is this it? Is this everyone who’s left?” She asked. Her voice was harsh, and had the same shake Callie’s had. One of the three men nodded. They followed Dr. Li to a maintenance hatch in the floor nearby. Callie watched as the four of them climbed down, before getting down into the tunnel herself.

They weren’t alone. Even with all the power behind Harkness’ plasma rifle, it still took nearly an entire cell to take down the first three Enclave soldiers they met. She could barely focus, but with the help of her Pipboy, Callie was learning where to aim. The shoulder and knee joints were weak, and so long as they weren’t looking down, a shot to the neck could seep through enough to disintegrate her opponent. She led them through the tunnels, pausing occasionally to step ahead and dispatch more soldiers. 

“Stop. We need to stop.” Dr. Li said suddenly. Callie turned back. One of the men was down. Garza. Callie hadn’t spoken to him much, but knew his face well enough to know he didn’t usually look so pale. “He has a heart condition. Do we have stimpaks, or I don’t know, buffout? Anything that will help him.”

Callie was already at his side. “Keep watch.” She said to whoever was listening. She took Garza’s hand and felt for his pulse. It was far too fast, even under the circumstances. His breathing was ragged, and his arms looked stiff. She fumbled for her stimpaks. Five left, and he would need them all. The cold, practical part of her mind told her to conserve them, to save at least one for herself, but it wasn’t in Callie’s nature to listen to that voice. She pulled his shirt sleeves up and injected them the way her father taught her for cardiac arrest protocol. Two in the arm, one in the neck. Wait two minutes, then two more in the opposite arm.

The response was rapid. After only a few minutes, Garza’s color returned, and he was breathing without a problem. Callie had caught her breath as well, and rose to her feet again. She had to keep them going. If she stopped she would start thinking about what happened. They needed her, and if she broke down they would all be lost. 

Run, he’d said. Run.

She had them wait in that spot as she scouted ahead. Around the next corner she heard the low growl of ghouls. She kept moving forward till she saw them. There were five of them swarmed so tightly around an Enclave soldier that Callie could barely see the power armor. He was yelling, calling for help. Before Callie could even aim, they tore him in half. On any other day, Callie would have been horrified, but it barely registered. She crouched and adjusted the scope of her rifle. In seven shots, there was nothing left ahead but a large green puddle. She went back to the team and called them forward. Daniel, her least favourite of the group, gagged as they passed the bloody mess the ghouls had made, but thankfully it didn’t slow them down.

Around the next corner, she came close to firing at a man in power armour, but caught sight of the Brotherhood logo just in time. He spoke with Dr. Li for a moment as Callie’s head whipped around. She could hear more ghouls coming from another tunnel. 

“Go. We have this covered.” The Brotherhood knight said, lighting the huge flamethrower he carried. Dr. Li pulled Callie along to another ladder, which led them back out onto the surface. Callie squinted at her surroundings. They were right next to the citadel. She turned towards The Jefferson Memorial, and took two steps that way before she was distracted by Dr. Li yelling at the guard. She walked back over to the team as Dr. Li stormed over to the intercom and began yelling into that, demanding that they open the goddamn door. As soon as she finished speaking, there was an ear-splitting creak as the large metal door opened. Dr. Li wasted no time, marching right inside and towards the two old men in strange robes who were walking in their direction. 

“Elder Lyons.” Dr. Li was saying, addressing the man in blue. Callie had followed Dr. Li but barely heard any of the conversation. She looked around at the expanse of the yard. All around them were Brotherhood recruits training and laughing with each other. How could anyone be laughing right now? When she looked back at the group, they were all looking at her. Beside the older men, Sarah Lyons stood at attention with two of her troops. 

“He was a good man. I’m terribly sorry.” Elder Lyons said. Callie blinked at him and gave a short nod of the head. The man next to him was talking now.

“-working on finding which vaults would have had a G.E.C.K., if any of them are even still in use. What you’ll need to do-”

“I can’t. I can’t do this right now.” Callie muttered.

“The Enclave is here.” The man pressed. “This is no time to-”

“Time. Yeah. I’m gonna need some time.” She said, more loudly. She wasn’t looking at any of them in particular. She couldn’t focus too long on any of their faces.

The man took a step forward. “Miss Elliot, we understand that you’ve been though-”

“Leave her be, Scribe Rothchild.” A firm voice said. Sarah. “Look at her. She’s obviously in shock, and she’s not going to be any use to you right now. She’ll just get herself killed, and then where would we be?”

Callie looked up at the sentinel and gave her a grateful nod. She felt heavy, like she was moving through water. Words were difficult.

“I need... I need to go home.” Callie said, turning away from them all and walking away. After a minute, she heard the clank of power armour as Sarah caught up with her.

“Here. Take this with you.” She said, pressing what looked like a walkie-talkie into her hand. “It’s a Brotherhood communicator. If you need help, call. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”

Callie swallowed. She managed a quiet ‘thank you’, and she walked away. 

And she walked.

Without purpose or direction, she walked, holding her rifle stiffly in her arms. She shot anything that came within twenty feet of her, which fortunately hadn’t been more than a few bloatflies. Hours passed and as she walked, the world slowly came back into focus. Her mind was still reeling, but her heart rate had slowed, and the adrenaline that had coursed through her system was finally fading.

“Run.” His voice kept telling her. Her father’s voice. A voice she would never hear again.

She looked around, dazed. She stood just north of Megaton, with only a vague recollection of how she’d got there. Her radio was hissing static, and she was struck by how lucky she was that she hadn’t been attacked by anything larger on her way. She started walking towards Megaton as she fiddled with the radio dial. Before she landed on the Galaxy News Radio frequency, she heard a voice that made her stop in her tracks.

“Please, stop looking for your dad and help me stop mine...”

Amata? She listened to the message three times before moving again. Amata needed her help, and she needed to go home. She took a deep breath which hitched in her throat. She was going home.


	17. The Weary Exile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> I’ll Never Smile Again - Julie London  
> Way Back Home - Bob Crosby and the Bobcats

With shaking hands, Callie turned on the shower in her Megaton house. As much as she wanted to go directly to the vault, she knew she was going to need to clean herself off before returning home. The day had left her covered in dirt, sweat, and other people’s blood, and what an impression that would give on her arrival. She stepped under the water and flinched when the hot, murky water hit her shoulders. She was bruised and sore, and she was finally starting to feel it. She scrubbed the plasma residue off her hands and her right shoulder, where a blast had come so close it had burned a hole through every layer of her clothing. Once out of the shower, she wrung out her hair in front of her cracked mirror. So this is what grief looks like, she thought, as even she could see how hollow she looked. She should be crying, she thought. It felt wrong that she hadn’t, but her eyes had stayed dry. 

She dried off, and covered some of her larger scrapes with bandages. Both knees of her dark green cargo pants were ripped, but as they were currently also her cleanest pair of pants, she pulled them on with a sports bra and a black tank top. She shook the water out of her hair. Would Amata approve of the blue? It was too late to change it now. Her jacket, like the tee shirt she’d had on earlier, had a large hole burned into the shoulder that had left the edges slightly green. She frowned at it before putting that on as well. At least it matched the snake on the back. Back in her bedroom, she looked down at her bed. It would be smart to get some sleep and head out in the morning, but the idea of lying down alone with her thoughts filled her with panic. She clicked on the radio, but the music was too cheerful and loud so she turned it right back off. After unloading her pack of all the random odds and ends she’d picked up, she headed out.

It was late, and Megaton was thankfully quiet. She hadn’t spoken to anyone when she’d arrived, and she was just as glad not to run into anyone on her way out. The moon shone brightly in the sky as she walked, lighting up her path back to the vault. She clicked on the radio and listened to Amata’s message again. It gave her a shred of hope, and she clung to that with everything she had left. 

The vault door loomed over Callie. The day she’d left, she hadn’t noticed the bones outside. She stepped over them and entered Amata’s name into the control panel. After what seemed like a long time, huge door rolled to the side. Maybe it was too much to hope that someone would be on the other side to meet her, but the control room was empty. Callie slowly stepped over the threshold. There were blood stains on the floor. She frowned. Had it really gotten that bad? An old sign had been spray painted over so that it now read ‘Fuck you, Overseer”. She reached down and touched the pistol at her hip, remembering how quickly they’d fired on her when she’d left. Instead of the gun, she drew her mother’s knife from her pocket and unfolded it. She wasn’t going to use violence if she didn’t have to, but she wanted to be prepared. She held the knife loosely at her side as she moved cautiously forward. 

“Stop right there!” A loud voice called. She froze. “I don’t know how you got... Callie? Gosh, Callie, you look... um, very different.”

Callie let out a nervous laugh and held up her hands. “Yeah, well, I figured it was time I came back to say Hi.” She said. To her relief it was Officer Gomez, one of the few people she knew she could trust. She turned to him. “What happened here?”

He looked frustrated, and shook his head. He told her how they’d lost lives the day she’d left, how Amata was leading a group of rebels against the overseer to open the vault. Callie smiled a little at the idea of Amata as any kind of rebel, which Officer Gomez noticed and frowned.

“You know I probably should arrest you and take you to the overseer, but I won’t do that. I don’t think I could if I tried.” He said, eyeing the plasma rifle on her back. “The rebels will want to speak to you too, or... or you could just leave now, and I won’t say a word to anyone.” He offered.

Callie shook her head. “No. I’m here ‘cause I want to help. If there’s anything I can do to get this solved, I will.” 

Officer Gomez nodded his approval. He looked very tired. “My son is with them, with the rebels. And my fellow officers are in a panic. The only reason I’m still wearing this uniform is because I actually do want to keep the peace, unlike some of the others. If you can talk some sense into any of them, I would be grateful.”

“I’ll do my best. I promise.” Callie said, determined. “Where are the rebels? I’ll talk to them first.”

“They’re using the clinic as a safe-house. It seems your father had his own locks installed that can’t be opened by the overseer.”

Callie paused at that. “You’re saying the overseer has access to every other locked door?”

Officer Gomez looked away. “It wasn’t something that was widely known before all this started, but yes.”

“God.” Callie said, but she couldn’t dwell on that. Everything was different now, but maybe she could fix things, and get them all on her side.

She shook Officer Gomez’s hand and walked towards the atrium. She didn’t mention her father. She wasn’t sure she could. It wasn’t long before she could hear shouting.

“You can’t cage a tunnel snake, cause we rule!” Was that Freddy’s voice?

“Get back down below!” A panicked voice yelled back. That was definitely Officer Taylor, who barely held himself together at the best of times. To her horror, she heard a gunshot. She ran into the room, and as Freddy ran off, Taylor turned his gun towards her.

“Put that down.” She said firmly. His eyes were wide, and he looked terrified. 

“Don’t you know enough to stay away?” He said. He looked like he was about to cry.

“You almost shot Freddy! Now put that down.” She said. She was too angry to be as scared as she should be. He nodded and holstered his weapon, blubbering out a nervous explanation about how Freddy had a knife.

“He was twenty feet away from you. You could have killed him.” Callie said. Now that the gun was away, she looked around the atrium. It was a mess. Half the lights were out, furniture and garbage were strewn across the floor and used as barricades, and graffiti lined the walls. Callie looked back at Taylor, disgusted. “You watch yourself, and keep that gun holstered or I’ll take it from you myself. Nobody else needs to get hurt today.”

Taylor nodded, as if he was relieved to have someone tell him what to do, even if she was wearing the same jacket as Freddy. As she walked away, she heard Officer Gomez approach the older officer. 

“Are you fucking kidding me, that’s my boy!” She heard him say. She didn’t think she’d ever heard him swear before. She cautiously made her way downstairs. The last place she wanted to go was the clinic, but her need to see Amata overtook her hesitation. 

With knife in hand, she walked towards the clinic. There was another barricade before the entrance, and she could see someone pacing behind it. She didn’t slow her approach, but turned just as she passed the barricade. A hand shot out to catch her arm but she grabbed it first, pulling the man close, knife at his throat.

“Butch?” 

“Damn, you made it back.” Butch said, his face lighting up when he saw it was her. He looked at the burn mark on her shoulder and reached out to touch it. “Aw, what the hell happened to my jacket?”

She lowered her knife and shoved him away. “It got shot. You’re one of the rebels?”

He laughed. “You know me, I’ve always been a rebel. Man, everything went to shit when you and your dad left. You know that, right? With the roaches, and the guards... everybody went crazy.” He took out a comb and fixed his hair. “Now the overseer’s gone so far off the edge of crazy even Amata’s standing up to him.” He motioned for her to follow him. “C’mon. She’s gonna want to see you.”

She followed him down the hall. He turned around and walked backwards as they walked so he could face her. “You’re here to help us, right? It’s kinda the least you can do.” He said. 

She shot him a look. “I’m here to help Amata.”

He nodded. “Your hair’s blue. Does everybody dye it like that on the outside?”

“No.” She said simply. He wasn’t who she was here to see, and she didn’t like the way he was talking to her. Like they were old friends or something.

The clinic was close. It wasn’t as hard to see it again as she’d thought, as it looked so completely different than when she’d left. Most of the equipment was gone, and there were more cots out than there had been. People, mostly young people were huddled together. The reaction Callie received was mixed. Some glared at her, others looked almost hopeful. She saw Amata sitting behind her father’s desk and let out a sigh of relief. She looked exactly the same, if not a bit tired. Callie moved towards her, but was stopped as Wally Mack stepped forward and blocked her path. 

“Oh, ho ho, are you ever in trouble.” He said. Without thinking, Callie tightened her grip on her knife. “The nerve of you, coming back here when you and your dad screwed everything up.”

Behind him, Amata had stood up. “Leave her alone, Wally. I asked her to come.”

Wally kept her eyes narrowed at Callie. “All I’m doing is telling her what happened after she ran off.” He said to Amata, then addressed Callie again. “We lost a lot of people, you know. I may be staying out of the fight, but you should understand that the vault wouldn’t even be working if my pop hadn’t saved old Stanley. But then again, you wouldn’t know anything about having a hero for a dad, would y-”

In one swift motion, Callie switched her knife to her left hand, and punched Wally hard in the neck with her right. He let out a seal-like gasp for air, and staggered backward. Callie looked around coldly. “Anyone else?”

Amata ran over to her. “Sorry about him,” she said, then she smiled and threw her arms around Callie. “I can’t believe you’re here! It’s so good to see you.”

Callie smiled, and hugged her best friend tightly. “I missed you out there.” She said, her voice catching in her throat. “So much.”

Amata let go, and Callie reluctantly let her. “Everything went crazy after you left. I went to my father’s office. I saw the reports you’d opened. The ones that said the vault used to be open, I even saw the pictures! They’d been lying to us all our lives.”

“If there had been more time, I would have told you. I found out about a lot of lies that day too. There’s... there’s just so much I need to tell you.” Callie said, looking down.

“Yes. Yes, of course. I just don’t know why he’s doing this? Why Jonas had to die for this. Why we have to stay locked in down here without being able to make our own choices.”

Amata spoke passionately. She was angry, and she had every right to be. Behind her, Wally had recovered and walked back up to them. Before Callie could say a word, Amata turned to stand between them. “You need to leave, Wally. You keep saying you’re staying neutral, but you keep hanging around here. Either help us, or get out of my sight.” 

Wally looked between Amata and Callie. To her surprise, Susie Mack had joined them, and stood by Callie’s side. “She’s right, Wally. You should go.” She said, crossing her arms. Callie noticed for the first time that he wasn’t wearing a Tunnel Snakes jacket. She looked back at Butch to find him glaring at Wally even harder than she had been.

“Fine. I don’t fuckin’ care about any of you anyway.” Wally said loudly, before storming out.

Amata rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Suzie. Callie, please sit down, and I’ll catch you up on everything.”

They sat across her father’s desk from each other, and for the next five minutes, Amata told her about all the vault’s problems. The deaths, the lack of medical staff, the overseer’s panic, and how she wanted to set up trade with the outside world. Callie let her talk uninterrupted. Amata was the most kind-hearted person she’d ever known, and it broke Callie’s heart that she’d been through so much.

“He keeps saying he wants what’s best for me, but he won’t even listen to what I actually want. I know you two have never gotten along, but you know what’s out there, and an outside perspective might be the only thing that makes him actually listen. I’ve tried everything else.”

Callie nodded and leaned forward in her chair. “I’ve got some ideas. I’ll make this right, Amata. I swear.” She spoke earnestly. In the state she was in, Callie would have done just about anything Amata said, but she’d made good points, and Callie knew she was right. No one should die for wanting to leave. 

Amata smiled, and sighed in relief before her expression turned troubled. “Thank you. Just please don’t do anything rash, or hurt him, okay?”

Callie blinked in surprise. “I wasn’t planning on hurting him, and I’ll do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but... he did order me killed when I left. I don’t want things to get violent, but it’s not just up to me, is it?” She tried to be realistic. She had no idea what the overseer would do when he saw her, especially if any of the other Macks got wind of how she’d hit Wally. 

Amata nodded and looked a little guilty. “Thank you. And sorry, I just... he’s still my dad.”

“I know.” Callie said in a low voice. Her expression must have given her away.

“Callie?” Amata asked gently, but Callie stood up before she could say anything else.

“I’ll come right back here after I talk to him.” Callie said, pasting a smile on her face. 

Amata gave her a concerned smile, but didn’t press. “Thank you so much. I’ll see you soon.”

Callie walked back out of the clinic, determined to live up to her promise. She made it to the overseer’s office with little trouble, explaining herself to several guards, who surprisingly let her pass. Outside the overseer’s door she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d stood outside this door many times, but this was the first time she felt like she had any sort of control for the conversation to come. She folded her knife, and put it back in her pocket before pressing the door control button. She gave a tight smile and a wave towards the camera above her, and after a moment, the door opened. The overseer sat upright in his chair. There was a pistol on the desk, but his hands were folded together in front of him.

“Alphonse.” She said as a greeting.

“Calypso.” He responded. Callie kept her face neutral despite inwardly cringing at her full name.

“Let’s talk, shall we?”


	18. Why Not Take All Of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> All Of Me - Billie Holiday   
> Cruel - St. Vincent

Callie remembered the last time she’d come to the overseer’s office to talk. It had been just over a year ago, and it had been the first time she’d come to see him without being sent or dragged into the room. 

“Like everyone else in this community, you are expected to perform your duties. This shouldn’t be an issue.” He’d said, after she’s calmly and concisely presented her case.

Callie tried not to grit her teeth. “I’ve been reading the books, doing my homework, and following everything to a T, but we haven’t had a marriage counselor since Martha died ten years ago, and I really don’t think we need one.”

“The Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test gives you your career path. That’s the way things are. Even those who try to cheat their way past it still get put in the place they belong. You should know that better than anyone.” The overseer said, looking sternly at her from behind his desk.

Callie bristled. Mr. Brotch had offered her a different path the day she’d taken the G.O.A.T., and she’d eagerly agreed. A week later, the overseer somehow caught wind and put her back in her originally designated position of Vault Marriage Counselor. It had made her wonder if he had his hand in the results and was just actively trying to make her miserable.

“But the majority of my job is making sure nobody marries their cousin, and trying to convince married people to have babies. That’s it. And I am trying, but we don’t even have anybody who’s thinking about marriage right now, and even if we did, do you really see them coming to me for advice?” She shook her head and looked out the office window. “I could be useful, you know. I want to be useful. I’m good at fixing things. I could do something in engineering, or I could help my dad at the clinic-”

“No.” He said quickly. “I don’t know what always makes you think you deserve special treatment, Miss Elliot, but like everybody else, you will do the job assigned to you. That is final.”

It had taken a lot of self control not to start yelling, that day. She’d never asked for special treatment from the overseer or anybody else, and she’d never understood where he’d gotten that idea. Now, knowing what she knew about where she’d come from, it made a little more sense. She’d come into the vault as a wastelander twice now, but this time around, she was better prepared to stand up for herself. 

“I understand your concerns,” Callie said to the overseer, who sat with both elbows on the desk in front of him, “but as your marriage counselor, I had access to every wedding the vault ever had. You have to understand, you’ve got one, maybe two generations tops before your gene pool dries up. Then you’ll have to leave, or things are going to start getting gross. Don’t let that be your legacy.”

He stared at her. She couldn’t tell if he was angry, or if he was actually considering what she’d said. After a moment, she went on. “Amata has a lot of good ideas for how to make this work. If she starts opening trade now, it will get you to a place where no one’s in the position of having to leave if they don’t want. Let Amata do this the right way, and let the people who want to make a life outside do so.”

“So they can be like you?” He asked, looking her up and down. It was a loaded question, and Callie didn’t bite. He wasn’t her overseer anymore, and she didn’t have to play along with his games.

“Your daughter has a good head on her shoulders, and she can end this peacefully. It’s time to let her.” She said.

“And if I don’t, then what? You’ll force me out?” He asked with a sneer. She could hear the edge of panic in his voice. He still didn’t want to give up control, even as everything crumbled around him. He hadn’t reached for the pistol in front of him, but Callie was very aware of it.

“I’m offering you a way to end this peacefully, because regardless of what happens today, the problem’s not going to disappear. I suggest you do this the easy way. The way where your trigger happy friends don’t end up killing your children.”

He flinched at that. Good, Callie thought. At least he had some idea of the hell he’d created. She kept her eyes focused on him as he glared at her. After a moment he shook his head and sighed heavily. “Okay. You win. I’ll step down and let Amata handle the change. While I don’t think she’s ready-”

“You’d be surprised. Talk to her, really talk to her, and you’ll see she’s been ready for a long time now.”

He looked irked at that, but he nodded as he rose to his feet. “Come. I need to tell my men to stand down, and give Amata the news.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Callie said, and meant it.

They walked back together. True to his word, he announced his retirement as overseer, and told everyone they passed that the conflict was over. They stopped at the brig and released Mr. Brotch, who laughed as he hugged Callie, slapping her on the shoulder like he was proud of her. 

When they reached the clinic, Amata had tears in her eyes. She hugged her father and cried. Callie took a step back and nodded to herself. She’d done something right today. On the wall behind Amata, slightly ajar, but still hanging, was her father’s framed passage of Revelation 21:6. She approached it even as her stomach sank. There was something behind the picture. She took it off the wall, and managed to quickly break into the lock behind it. Inside were caps, a holotape, and a schematic written in what she knew now to be her mother’s handwriting. Callie put everything in her pack, turned around, and caught her shin on one of the cots. She swore under her breath, which was enough to make Amata look over.

“Are you okay?” Amata said.

Callie nodded. “Just tired. If I could just put my head down for a bit I know I’ll be a lot more useful.”

“Yes. My father and I have a lot to talk about. We need to negotiate how both sides are going to come together, which may take some time, but it has to be done now.” Amata said, walking to her side. “Come on, you can lie down on my cot. I’m sorry, but Wally took your room for himself. I tried to tell him not to.” 

Amata led her to one of the private clinic rooms. “Really, just ten minutes.” Callie said, as she kicked off her boots and nearly collapsed onto the cot. “I’ll be here if you need me.” 

“I’ll be back soon.” Amata said, shutting the door behind her. Callie was asleep almost as soon as she’d closed the door, but almost as quickly, the dreams were upon her. She was a kid again, maybe eleven or twelve, shooting radroaches with Jonas in the basement, when suddenly the man in the tench coat was there, the colonel. He killed Jonas, and Callie watched, frozen behind a glass wall, as he made his way through the vault.

Her eyes snapped opened, but Callie remained frozen in horror. There were tears in her eyes, and she was covered in a cold sweat. After a minute she was finally able to control her labored breathing, but she remained still, blinking at the ceiling overhead. They couldn’t find her here. The vault door had kept people out for hundreds of years, and the Enclave wouldn’t be any different. She breathed deeply. The cot smelled like Amata, and the hum of the vault was familiar and soothing. Her pipboy told her it was 12:15am, and that she’d only been out for twenty minutes. Only then did she realize she was still wearing her jacket. She sat up and began to remove it when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Yeah?” 

The door opened, and Amata stepped inside. Callie sat up properly and reached for her boots. “How’s everything going?”

“It’s official now. I’m the overseer.” She said, not meeting Callie’s eyes.

“Congratulations. That’s a good thing, right?” Callie said as she pulled her boots on. Her friend looked troubled.

“It’s difficult. I have to do what’s best for everyone in the vault now.” Amata said. There wasn’t much else in the room except for a rolling stool, which Amata pulled towards Callie before sitting down.

“You’ll do great,” Callie said with a smile, “I have no doubts about that.” 

Amata swallowed, and glanced up at her before looking back down. “I like your hair. It suits you.”

Why was she stalling? Callie leaned forward. “Mata, what’s wrong?”

Amata clenched her hands together. “I... I will always be grateful for what you’ve done for me, for all of us here...” She said, swallowing hard.

“But...” Callie prompted, an entirely different sinking feeling was brewing inside her stomach.

“But you have to... I have to ask you to leave the vault. A lot of people still blame you for what happened, and I’m sorry, but if I’m going to keep things peaceful, I need you to go. The situation is just too delicate right now.”

Callie swallowed hard. “How long before I can come back?”

Amata’s shoulders slumped. She still wasn’t looking at her. “I’m sorry, Callie. But you can’t ever come back.”

Callie stood up and paced the length of the small room. “That’s it, then? Thanks for the help, now get out?”

Amata looked up at her. She at least had the decency to look upset. “I’m sorry, Callie. But yes, if you care about us at all, you will leave.” She looked more than upset, almost afraid. 

Callie stopped pacing. “Right now? It’s after midnight.” She said in a low voice. She knew she must have sounded desperate, but she didn’t care.

Looking back down at her hands, Amata nodded. Callie opened her mouth but no words came out. There were tears in Amata’s eyes. “I wish you all the best. I mean that. And I hope you find your dad.”

“I already found him.” She said, her throat dry. “He’s dead.”

“Oh, Callie, I’m-” Amata said, standing up. Callie held up a hand to stop her.

“Don’t. Don’t tell me your sorry. It doesn’t change anything, does it?”

Amata swallowed. “I’m... no, no, I’m afraid it doesn’t.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” She said bitterly. She walked away from Amata, even though she heard her call her name one more time. She felt like screaming, like punching a wall, but that wouldn’t change anything either. The numbness she’d felt earlier was seeping through her brain again, mixed with frustration and anger. She looked briefly at the group of rebels in the clinic and left without a word. Out in the hallway, Butch still stood at his post.

“Hey, what happened in there?” He asked.

“Ask the overseer.” Callie barked, passing him without slowing down.


	19. It's Not Her Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Gloomy Sunday - Billie Holiday  
> It’s Alright With Me - Sammy Davis Jr.

As soon as the vault door closed, the wasteland was quiet. Callie walked back to Megaton in another daze. To lose her father, but also Amata, and her childhood home was overwhelming, and too much to take. After a minute, the silence became unbearable, so she switched on her radio. The last thing she’d listened to was Amata’s message, which no longer played. She turned the dial till she heard Three Dog’s familiar voice.

“...last seen heading west towards the Super-Duper Mart. So, if you see that lone wanderer out there, let her know we’re thinking about her, and help her out if you can. It’s a sad day folks, and we’re all gonna need to pull together to get through this. Up next, the incomparable Lady Day.”

A sad dirge started, and Callie nodded to herself. It was a small comfort, and she appreciated it. By the time she trudged back into town it was after one o’clock. There was a handwritten note taped her door. Callie blinked at it for a moment before she could process the words, but when she did, she swallowed hard.

Hi Callie, 

Sorry for the delay, but your new theme finally arrived today. I hope you love it!

-Moira

It was weeks ago that Callie had hefted a heavy bag of caps onto Moira’s counter, ordered furniture, and handed out her spare key. It had been exciting then, but now it filled her with dread. She took a deep breath before opening the door, and sure enough, her little house was now vault themed. She closed the door behind her, sank to the ground, and cried. 

Three days later, and she hadn’t left the house. Wadsworth had been an attentive butler, heating up meals and giving her water. His tone even lacked its usual sarcasm. Callie spent most of this time in bed, though she hardly slept. She kept replaying what had happened in her head. If she’d gotten to her dad faster, if she’d tried harder to convince Amata to let her stay, if she’d broken through the glass wall... her thoughts were bad, but her dreams were worse. 

On the evening of the third day, Wadsworth informed her that they were out of food. She bleakly told him she would go get more, then immediately forgot until nine o’clock. She dragged herself into the shower and pulled on the closest clothes she could find. It was chilly outside and her hair was still wet, but she felt more hungry than cold. It was nearly ten now. Moira’s would be closed, and there was no way in hell she was going up to have Moriarty rub her face in her own failures. She walked down the hill to try The Brass Lantern, awkwardness be damned.

The door was thankfully unlocked, and she walked inside. Jenny looked up from behind the till, her expression of annoyance faded when she saw who it was.

“Callie! I didn’t know you were in town.” She said, wiping her hands with a cloth.

“Hi, Jenny. Are you still open?” Callie asked, looking around at the empty room.

“I was just about to close up, but I can heat something up for you if you like.” 

“Yeah, if it’s not too much trouble.” Callie said, approaching the counter. 

“No trouble at all.” She said, coming around from the other side of the counter. “But would you mind if I locked the door? There are a lot of creeps out there at this time of night.”

Callie managed a smile as she sat on one of the barstools in front of the counter. “Sure. And thanks for not including me on the list of creeps.”

“No, you’re one of the good ones.” Jenny said, locking the door and returning to the kitchen.

“Are you by yourself tonight?” Callie called to her. The only other sound she could hear was the small radio on the counter.

Jenny poked her head back from the kitchen. “I am. The boys went on a big supply run to Canterbury Commons. They’ll be back in about two weeks if they don’t kill each other on the way.”

Callie nodded, and Jenny went back to making the food. That was a huge relief as she was in no state to handle talking to either of them right now. She put her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hands as the radio played. It wasn’t long before Jenny came out with a plate of food. “What would you like to drink? Beer? Something harder?”

As tempting as that was, she didn’t feel much like drinking tonight. “How about just a Nuka-Cola.”

“Sure.” Jenny said, taking two colas out of the fridge, opening them, and setting them down on the counter. Callie dug into her food, salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. Both were prepackaged and reheated, but she was hungry and it tasted as good as it possibly could. She took a long drink and sighed. The headache she’d been ignoring faded.

“God, I was hungry. Thanks for staying open for me.”

Jenny was cleaning the other side of the counter. “Of course,” she said, “this one’s on me.”

“Oh, you don’t have to-”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. The steak wouldn’t have lasted too many more days anyway.”

Callie nodded. “Thank you. Business has been okay lately?”

“Yeah. We’ve had a lot of people come through town recently with all the... recent developments.” She said hesitantly. 

“The Enclave.” Callie said. So Jenny knew, which meant she had less to explain if asked. Good.

Jenny put down the cloth and walked slowly around the counter. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with all that. People keep saying it won’t reach us here, or that if it does, it’ll be a good thing-”

“It won’t be.” Callie said, looking down at her plate. “They’re murderers.”

Jenny motioned to the next stool. “Can I sit with you?”

Callie motioned for her to sit down. Jenny sat down and looked at her for a moment. “I was young when my parents died, but I still remember every detail, and how much it hurt. I barely spoke, or ate, or even brushed my hair. If I hadn’t had Leo and Andy, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Callie nodded, but didn’t know what to say. Jenny continued, “What I’m trying to say, is that I know I can’t understand exactly what you’re going through, but it’s important for you to know you’re not by yourself in this. There are a lot of people out there who are on your side, myself included, and it’s okay to rely on them... on us.”

“Thank you,” Callie said, looking away, “but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ve lost everything.” He voice caught in her throat. She tried to clear it, but the feeling didn’t go away.

“I know.” Jenny said softly.

“It’s not even just my dad, it’s my home, my... my best friend.” Callie said, her voice still wavering. Jenny reached out and put a hand over hers.

“Did you want to tell me about it?”

Callie hesitated, and then it all came pouring out. It was too hard to go into tii much detail about her father, but she went into depth about what had happened in the vault, and how awful it was to have to leave again. Jenny listened patiently, didn’t interrupt, and occasionally squeezed the hand she still held.

“I just thought after everything, at least I still had Amata. I still had a friend back home. But now I doubt I’ll ever see her again. I’m not even sure I want to.”

Jenny shifted on her stool. “She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

Callie shrugged. “Yes. Apparently a lot more than I ever meant to her.”

Jenny squeezed her hand again. “I’ve been there. It hurts when someone you love doesn’t... it hurts.”

Callie gave her a crooked smile. “Thank you for listening, and for being so nice to me. I think I really needed that.”

“It’s all right. I mean, obviously it’s not, but maybe someday it will be.”

Callie closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t even know if I can think that far ahead right now. Even tomorrow seems like a stretch.”

She looked up at Jenny, who smiled warmly at her. There was kindness and understanding in her eyes. “You don’t have to think about tomorrow right now.”

There was silence for a moment. All Callie could hear was the soft piano opening of the next song on the radio. As the smooth voice of Sammy Davis Jr. filled the bar, Callie watched as Jenny slowly moved her thumb over her hand. What was she doing? Callie stood up. “I, uh, I should probably get going. It’s getting late.

Jenny stood up as well. “You don’t have to.” She said. “You can stay with me tonight, if you like.” There was no mistaking her intention, or the look in her eyes now. Callie froze.

“I... um...” She sputtered, surprised, “I’m not... well, I mean, I’ve never...”

Jenny let out a low laugh. “It’s all right.” She said, reaching for Callie’s hand, which Callie let her take. “It’s all right.”

Callie looked down at their hands again with wide eyes. She’d been so kind, so comforting, so.... On any other day, the prospect of something so completely new would have had Callie cracking jokes. On any other day, she would have thought about the consequences it would bring to involve herself with yet another Stahl, or how the vault had always forbidden this sort of thing. On this night, any words she would have spoke died on her lips. All that filled her vision was this beautiful, kind woman holding her hand and offering her solace. It wasn’t something Callie had ever expected, or would have admitted she wanted. But on this night, something clicked.

“Okay.” Callie said, barely above a whisper.

“Follow me.” Jenny said. She lead Callie by the hand, picking up the radio and turning off lights as she went. At the top of the stairs was Jenny’s own small room. Callie closed the door behind them.

“This is... cozy.” Callie said, regaining enough of her wits to smile. Small blue lights were strung along the ceiling, and an abundance of blankets and pillows covered the bed.

“Thank you.” Jenny said, setting the radio down on the nightstand and lighting a large candle beside it. Callie walked to one side of the room, examining a faded Dean Domino poster on the wall. She didn’t realize Jenny had walked over to her till she felt a warm hand brush over her shoulder, slowly turning Callie around. The candle flickered, and the smell of cherries and almonds wafted towards her. Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the sweet smell calm her. When she opened her eyes Jenny was right in front of her, her hand on Callie’s neck. Her eyes still held that kind, understanding expression, and it did something to Callie she wasn’t aware could happen.

The music swelled, and then Jenny was kissing her. Softly, carefully, as if she was afraid Callie would run out at any time. When she finally pulled back, she touched Callie’s face gently. “Still all right?”

“Yes.” Callie said, pulling her gently towards the bed. “Yes.”


	20. But Such A Lovely Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> All I Have To Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers  
> We’ll Meet Again - The Inkspots

She dreamed of her best friend. 

It was Amata’s eleventh birthday, and Callie had made her a nightlight that projected stars onto her ceiling. Her smile had thrilled Callie in a way that she felt she had to keep hidden, but didn’t understand why. 

It was the little league finals, and they were on opposite teams. Callie was the pitcher, and struck Amata out. She felt horrible, and even though Amata had waved her off, saying it was all a part of the game, Callie couldn’t help being overly panicked that she’d ruined their friendship. 

It was August, just before they started ninth grade, and they were playing cards with Christine and Suzie. Callie wasn’t having a good time even though she was winning. Amata had told her that that she was just imagining that everyone hated her, and if she’d spent some quality time with the other kids she’d see that it wasn’t true. But sitting there in the cafeteria booth, with the two girls across from her openly glaring at her, knew that the only reason any of them were there was because of Amata. Being unsure of how else to fix the problem, Callie started losing on purpose. Amata thought the game was a success, but Callie was sure she was the only one out of the four who felt that way.

It was the night of their graduation, and Amata rejected Callie’s offer to dance. While Callie had been joking, it still hurt that she hadn’t wanted to dance with her. At the end of the night, Amata had thanked her for helping set up the party, and wrapped her in a big hug. It was warm, soft, and she could smell Amata’s favorite soap. Callie had pushed her away before she’d wanted to let go, as the last thing she wanted was Amata thinking she was being a creep.

It was the day she’d left the vault, and she woke up with Amata standing over her. She smiled, and told Amata she’d been dreaming of her, only to have Amata yell “gross!” before warning her of what was to come.

Now, it was early in the morning, and Callie woke up in an unfamiliar room, with a warm, female body wrapped around her. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Oh.” Callie said out loud. She loved Amata. She’d been in love with Amata, and she probably always had been. It clicked in her head like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She’d cared for Freddy for a while, and she knew she definitely also liked men, but she never even considered the fact that she could like women as well, much less that she already did. Now she wondered if she’d been too harsh with Amata. Had she said anything wrong, pushed her away because she was afraid of coming on too strong? She was still angry with Amata, but she also wanted to go back and apologize for being frustrated and overprotective when Amata didn’t deserve it. She shifted slightly to keep her arm from falling asleep, and Jenny stirred. She blinked at Callie from under a mess of strawberry-blonde hair.

“Morning.” She said, still half-asleep. “What time is it?”

Callie turned her wrist to look at her pipboy, the only thing she was currently wearing. “It’s only 6:30.”

Jenny stretched, and Callie couldn’t help reaching out and running a hand over her arm. Jenny sat up and brushed her fingers through her tangled hair. “I should start trying to wake up. I have to open at eight.”

She didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to leave, rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck before lying back down. Callie looked at her warmly. “Thank you for this. It’s... not something that’s spoken about in the vault, much less allowed.”

Jenny pretended to look shocked. “You’re not allowed to have sex? No wonder you left.”

Callie smiled. “You know what I mean, but still. Thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

Jenny smiled back. “I had a good time.”

Callie nodded and stretched. Jenny had had a good time. Good wasn’t great, but this wasn’t the time to get into that. Soon, Jenny rose and dressed, and Callie followed her lead. Jenny hugged her goodbye and wished her luck, but Callie could tell she was rushing her out of the room. Callie kept the goodbye short, and left The Lantern with a smile on her face. It felt strange to smile, like she was betraying her father by being even a little bit happy. She turned her thoughts elsewhere. She couldn’t think about him right now. Not if she wanted to actually get anything done today. 

She went straight up to her house and showered. Wadsworth commented that it was good to see her up and about, and she almost would have hugged him if he weren’t so weirdly shaped. After changing and washing her dirty clothes in her sink, she convinced herself to leave the house. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be alone, or with people, but she figured she’d already spent enough time alone.

She checked the time. Craterside Supply would be open now. She peeked her head inside, and was greeted by a loud squeak from Moira, who wiped her hands on a rag as she walked up to Callie.

“Oh! Oh, you’re okay.” Moira said, coming up to her and awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. “I was so scared for you. They kept talking about what happened, but not about what had happened to you.”

“Don’t worry,” Callie said, “you haven’t lost your assistant yet.”

Moira took a deep breath. “Good.” She said, her usual enthusiasm rising. “Are you here for supplies? Medical help? What can I do?”

“Supplies, thanks.” Callie said. Her concern was touching, but she wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“Good. I’m glad. I’m so glad. I restocked recently, so let me know if I can help you find what you need.” Moira said, circling Callie like a worried mother.

With an armful of food and a pack full of bullets and cells, she went back to her house to stock her kitchen, then left the town. She couldn’t go back to the citadel, she knew she wasn't ready yet, but she did feel the pull towards Rivet City. It had been good seeing Moira, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being around more people. 

She got to the city in the the late afternoon. She could feel the dread take hold of her, and she could barely bring herself to look in the direction of the memorial, but before she knew it, she was walking across the bridge.

Danvers was standing watch by herself, and they gave a short nod to each other as Callie passed. She hadn’t spoken to Harkness since the whole Zimmer ordeal, and she had no idea if he would even want to see her, but she knew she’d run into him sooner or later, and decided not to delay the inevitable.

The marketplace was busy, but he saw her right away. He even took a few steps towards her as she approached, giving her the same nod as his second in command.

“It’s good to see you.” He said. There was weight to his words, and it filled her with such relief. She let go of the breath she’d been holding.

“You too, Chief.”

He’d had his arms crossed, but let them fall to his sides. “Look, I know the last time we spoke-” he started, but was cut off by a nervous voice on his walkie-talkie.

“Chief, that uh, issue we’ve been having with Private Jones is happening again. Can you get up here, please? Like, right now?”

He shut his eyes tight for a moment, then looked apologetically at her. “Sorry. This can’t wait. But I do want to talk to you, okay?”

She nodded as he backed away. 

“Oh, and that friend of yours is a real handful, huh?”

“Friend?” She asked, confused,

The voice came over the walkie-talkie again. “Chief!” 

“Acknowledged. On my way.” He said, jogging away to the stairwell and giving her a last wave.

Okay, so that went well, but who the hell was he talking about? She stood in the marketplace frowning. Who did she even know here who she considered a friend? Oh god, what if it had been the Stahl brothers? Andy could definitely be considered a handful if he was in a bad mood. Not sure that either of them would introduce themselves as her friend, though. Leo maybe, but unless he fell of the wagon he was pretty easy going. She slowly walked up to the stairwell. It couldn’t be... no. Brian was a good kid. She didn’t think he’d be causing trouble, but she headed for The Weatherly anyway.

As soon as she was through the door she heard a loud “Callie!” Brian actually jumped over the counter and ran at her, hugging her tightly. “They told me what happened, and then you didn’t come back, and nobody knew where you were.” He said frantically. She pat his back.

“It’s okay. I’m here now.”

He let her go and looked up at her with wide eyes. He looked like he was struggling to get words out. She understood. He knew what she was going through better than anyone, and was trying to figure out what to say the same way she had when she’d met him. “If you need anything... Vera’s been giving me money for doing extra work around here. I can help.”

“Thank you, really, but I have enough caps to last me a while, and I don’t want you spending your money on me.”

“Okay. But if that changes, I’ll be here.” He said, his voice cracking.

“Thanks, Kid.” She said. She was having a hard time not being emotional, and knew she should go before she let it overwhelm her. “I’ve got people to see, but I’ll be around here today, okay?”

“Okay. Come back soon.”

“I will.”

She left The Weatherly with no more answers than she’d started with, but with a stronger sense of support. She hadn’t asked, but she was confident he wasn’t who Harkness was talking about. Even after handing him off to Vera, she still felt responsible for the little guy.

She continued down the hall. Where was she supposed to look? She checked the clinic, the common room, and then spent a good half hour chatting with Abraham Washington down in the Preservation Society, which she discovered for the first time.

After sweeping most of the ship, she headed downstairs to The Muddy Rudder. Even if her “friend” wasn’t there, at least she could get a drink or two. Or five. She passed the bouncer, who gave his usual scowl. He looked different today, but Callie couldn’t place why. She got all the way to the bar before she heard his voice.

“Well, if it isn’t my best gal.”

She spun around. “Son of a... fuck!”


	21. A Fresh Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Aggravatin’ Papa - Bessie Smith  
> Let’s Misbehave - Elvis Costello

“What the hell are you doing here?” Callie asked, completely surprised.

Butch DeLoria smirked and leaned against the bar beside them. “Come on. You know the vault couldn’t hold me. I left the morning after you did.”

Callie closed her eyes tight. Did she really need another reminder of the vault, much less personified as her childhood bully? She sighed and shot him a dirty look. “And you haven’t gotten yourself killed yet, congratulations.”

He snickered. “You’re bein’ sarcastic, but it was a hell of a trip. You want a drink? Least I can do is get you a drink. Let’s have a drink.” 

Callie looked at him, incredulous. He was right, it was absolutely the least he could do, but he was being suspiciously chipper. “You’re buying? With what? Do you even know what they use for money out here?”

He ignored her harsh words and reached into his pockets, producing a large handful of caps. “I got a pretty good idea, yeah.”

Not without some hesitation, Callie sat down at the bar and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me you didn’t steal that.”

He scoffed. “You kidding me? Everybody out here’s got guns. I ain’t that stupid.” He set some of the caps down on the counter before taking the seat next to her. “And I’ll have you know I earned all of this myself.”

Before she could ask how, Belle Bonny came up to them and Butch ordered two of the “finest” beers. Belle gave a raspy laugh and went over to the fridge. Belle looked different too, the same way the bouncer had. Happier, fresher. It took her till Belle returned with the beers before she put her finger on it.

“Oh my god, are you really cutting hair down here?” Callie said, letting out a laugh despite herself.

He shot her another annoyed look. “Yeah, what about it?” 

“I don’t know.” Callie said. She shook her head and took a drink. He took a drink at exactly the same time, and that irritated her more than it should have. He started again, the smirk back on his face. “Look, the way I see it, we can keep ragging on each other forever, or we could get out there, and really tear it up, you know? So how about let’s be pals?”

He held his arms out, like it was the best idea in the world. Callie was surprised again, this was not what she was expecting from him, and she drew from years of experience. She narrowed her eyes. “Pals don’t hit each other in the face and then laugh as they bleed.”

Lowering his arms, Butch had the decency to look ashamed. “Look, I get it. I’ve been an asshole to you, I know. But I was hoping we this could be something like a fresh start, you know?”

His tone was serious, and she could almost believe his sincerity. “So what? You want to come with me? I’m not out here having fun. Did they tell you what’s happened to me? I’ve lost...” She shook her head and turned away from him, unable to continue her sentence.

“Look, I’ve said I was sorry.” 

Callie’s head snapped back to him. “No, you haven’t. Never in your life have you said that to me. I’d remember.”

“Oh.” He said, sounding genuinely surprised. “Well... then I’m sorry. Really.”

She studied him for a moment, then took a long drink from her beer bottle.

He shifted on the barstool. “So... are we good?”

She sighed. “No, but it’s a start.” After taking another swig, she nodded her head in the direction of his waist. “Do you know how to use that thing?”

He looked down at where she was looking and barked out a laugh. “Look, when I said we should be pals, I didn’t mean-”

“The gun, you jackass!” Callie said, slapping her hand down on the bar as he laughed at her. He wore the same standard issue vault security pistol and holster that she wore.

“I know. And, yeah, I do. I killed a giant monster with it on the way in. You shoulda seen this thing.”

“A super mutant?” Callie guessed, raising her eyebrows.

“I think so. It was gross and pink, with freaky rat teeth.”

It was Callie’s turn to laugh at him. “A mole rat. You fought a naked mole rat. The real monsters are a lot bigger, and we’re not going anywhere together till you at least know the basics of firing a gun. Finish your beer and let’s go.” Callie said, finishing the rest of hers in one long drink.

Butch blinked at her and after a couple of minutes, he finished his too. “Where are we going?” He asked, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and following her up the stairs.

“We’re going to The Weatherly to get some food. I’m starving, and target practice doesn’t mix well with a liquid lunch.”

“Yeah, okay.” He said, trailing behind her. It was strange. He’d never listened to her like this, but aside from the last few moments before the first time she’d run out of the vault, he’d never wanted to be her friend. The thought gave her a sinking feeling. She waited till they got to the upper level before turning to him.

“Is all this because I saved your mom? You don’t owe me for that, and if you’re going to turn on me as soon as you decide that debt is repaid, you’d better tell me right fuckin’ now.”

She pointed an accusatory finger in his face. He looked at her, blindsided. “No. Jeez, I didn’t even think of that.” He stepped away from her. “Not that I’m not thankful or whatever, but for the first time I, like...” He looked frustrated, like he couldn’t think of the right words. “I don’t have a reputation out here, you know? Nobody gives a damn who I am, so all I really have from now on is what I do.” He turned back. “Does that make sense?”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Callie asked after another moment, taking a step towards him. “You really do want a fresh start?”

He nodded, and she believed him. It didn’t fix things between them, but as she’d said, it was a good start. She relaxed a little. “Lunch is on me.” She said, before starting down the upper hallway. He followed.

The Weatherly only had a couple of other patrons, and no one she recognized. Vera waved at her as she led Butch to a table. They sat, and after a minute, Vera came by with some menus. 

“Oh Callie, I can’t tell you how sorry I am to hear about your dad.” She said, holding a hand to her chest. “He was such a good man.”

“Thanks.” She said quietly, then tried to change the subject. “This is Butch, he’s from the vault too.”

“Oh yes, you were here yesterday.” She said, smiling widely at Butch as if she hadn’t just been talking about death.

Butch gave her a winning smile. “How are you, Vera?”

Callie could swear she saw Vera blush. “Just fine, hun. I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”

They ordered and ate mostly in silence. Callie was still trying to make sense of her very odd day, and Butch looked like he didn’t want to screw up by saying the wrong thing. Callie didn’t have too much of a problem with that. Let him walk on eggshells for once, it’s what she had to do growing up. Maybe that was petty, but after everything, she decided it was okay to be a little petty.

Callie paid, and asked Vera if she could have any old tin cans she didn’t want. With an armful of cans, she motioned for Butch to follow her, which he did. They were just about out of the lobby when they ran into Brian Wilks again. He eyed the cans she was holding. “Do you want me to throw those out for you?”

She smiled. “Nah, we’re going outside for target practice. Butch DeLoria, meet-”

“Wilks.” Brian said quickly. “The name’s Wilks, and we met yesterday.”

“Oh. Okay then.” She said, giving him a curious look. “Catch you later... Wilks.”

“Um, can I come with you?” He asked. Callie could tell he was trying to stifle his excitement. Before she could reply, Butch laughed.

“Yeah, sure. Maybe when you’re older, squirt.” 

“Don’t talk to him that way.” Callie snapped. She turned back to the boy, “I’m not letting you shoot, but you can come watch if it’s okay with Vera. Go ask, and if she says yes, come meet us on the flight deck.”

He grinned and jogged across the lobby to stand near Vera, who had been loudly and happily gossiping with her customers. Callie turned and shoved her shoulder into Butch as she passed him.

“Don’t be an asshole, I like these people.” She said, once they were both out in the hallway.

“What, what’d I say?”

Callie narrowed her eyes. “I know that tone. I’ve been on the other end of that tone of yours too many times.”

To her continuing surprise, he nodded seriously at her. “I’ll keep that in mind.” They walked for a moment towards the stairs before he turned to her again. “I wasn’t wrong though, right? He’s too young.”

Callie shrugged. “I was younger than him when I first started shooting radroaches with my B.B. gun.”

Butch stopped in his tracks. “Whoa, hang on now. You had a B.B. gun?”

Callie just laughed.

There was no one else out on the flight deck. Butch looked up in awe at the broken-down fighter jets. “Damn. Can you imagine flying one of these babies?”

“Of course I can.” Callie said. “Do you know how much time it would save me if I didn’t have to walk anywhere?”

Butch took a deep breath. “I like it up here. You get a real good view of the whole place. Didn’t think I’d like it, but I do.”

Callie frowned. “Have you been up here before?”

Butch looked at her like she’d said something stupid. “I’ve been here three days now, I’ve been everywhere.”

Callie could believe that. Butch had never been one to sit still for long. She wondered at what “everywhere” meant, and if that had anything to do with the chief calling him a handful. Maybe this was a bad idea. It was hard enough out there on her own without having to babysit Butch DeLoria.

Still, she did want to make sure he could shoot. She set up the cans on the back wing of the nearest plane. Butch waited for her to come back to where he stood before he took out his pistol. Behind them, they heard loud footsteps as “Wilks” rushed to catch up with them. He was completely out of breath by the time he staggered over to the plane. Callie nodded towards where she’d set her pack down.

“Stand over there, but listen. I’ll tell you everything my f-” she cleared her throat “everything I know about pistols.”

She moved back to stand next to the kid, who was still trying to calm his breathing down. “Okay. Let’s see what we’re working with.”

She made an exaggerated wave towards the cans. Butch looked between Callie and Wilks and frowned. He cracked his neck and held the gun out with one hand, emptying the clip. One can fell, but only because his last shot had hit the plane, moving the wing slightly.

“This is bullshit, I can do this.” He yelled, more at the cans than Callie.

Callie nodded. “Yeah. I actually don’t think you’ll have too much of a problem with some practice. You were always good with darts and... throwing things.”

He snickered. “You got that right. Hey, remember the season in little league when I got sick and you got to be pitcher?”

Callie stiffened. “The year you almost broke my nose?” She said, her volume increasing with every word until she was shouting at him, “Yeah, I remember that pretty damn well!”

If it had been anyone else, it would have been enough for her to storm off, but what he’d said to her earlier made her pause. She wanted to see his reaction. To see if what he did to her mattered to him at all. He didn’t speak, but his shoulders slumped.

She took a few steps towards him, and spoke in a low voice so Wilks couldn’t hear. “I think this was a mistake. If you’re going to come with me I need to be able to trust you. How the hell can I trust you?”

He looked up at her. His eyes were sad, and nearly pleading with her. She knew he was trying, but she wasn’t sure it was enough. When he spoke, he spoke softly, in a voice that barely sounded like his own. “All I’m asking for is a chance. If this doesn’t work out and you still hate me, then I’ll leave you alone, I promise. I ain’t saying I deserve it. You’ve been nicer to me than anyone, and you really didn’t have a reason for it. Just let me prove to you that I’m more than just the asshole kid you knew.”

She considered what he said for a long moment before taking a clip of bullets off her belt. “First of all, your shoulders are way too tense. Let me see the gun.”

A hopeful smile crept onto his face as he handed her the pistol. She took a step back so Wilks could watch her as well. After loading the gun, she started on the basics. After about fifteen minutes she let Butch shoot again. This time, he hit half the targets. He spun around to face her. “Hah! See? I told you I could do it.” He said. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he nodded. “You know, ‘cause you told me how and all. Thanks, Cal.”

She nodded. Good. She’d still have to keep an eye on him, but he seemed eager enough to get out there, and she was still in desperate need of a distraction. What she had in mind would be more than enough to keep her busy for a while.

Wilks stood up from where he’d sat down by Callie’s pack. “Thanks for letting me come, but I should go. Check-in is in an hour and I still have a room to finish cleaning.”

“All right. See you later, Kid.”

Butch watched him leave, then turned to Callie. “He looks at you like you’re his mom.” 

He winced after he said that, as if Callie would get angry at him for it, but she smiled. “Come on, he’s not that much younger than us. And anyway, I like to think I fit the roll of ‘fun aunt’.”

Butch walked up to the plane and took one of the cans, tossed it up into the air, caught it, and hurled it at the next plane, breaking the window. There didn’t seem to be much of a reason for his action, but he seemed pleased with himself. “Cool. So, what are we gonna do now?”

Callie chuckled to herself before breaking out into a wide grin. “We’re going to steal the Declaration of Independence.”


	22. National Treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Getting To Know You - Bing Crosby  
> We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me) - The Ink Spots

The irradiated water and sludge on the floor of the metro tunnels sloshed as Callie led Butch towards The Mall. As much as they tried to walk around it, there were long stretches where the only way was through. “Damnit.” Butch said as he stepped into a deeper puddle. “How do you ever get used to this?”

“No idea. It’s always just as disgusting as the last time.” Callie replied. They’d been walking together for almost an hour, and hadn’t argued once, which was promising. He’d asked her questions, some smarter than others, and she was happy to talk about life outside the vault. Callie was grateful that he hadn’t mentioned her father or the Enclave, even though she knew he was aware of what had happened. 

“And this is the only way there?” Butch asked. She could tell he was annoyed, and she could also tell that he was struggling not to show it. He was trying not to upset her, which was just fine. Callie had to walk on eggshells around him and the rest of those goons for most of her life, and if it took her anger to make him a little more mindful of the shit he said, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

“As far as I know.” She said. “Wait till you see it, though. It’s amazing. The buildings, the monuments, the giant pool in the middle. It’s also chaotic and violent, and crawling with super mutants, but it’s still impressive.”

“Those are the giant ones, right?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot of open space out there, and there’s always a ton of them walking around, so stay behind me if you can.”

“Hey, I can hold my own.” Butch said, his irritation growing.

Callie stopped. He looked at her hesitantly, but she wasn’t angry. “Look, it’s easy to say that now, but they’re more dangerous than anything you’ve ever seen. I’ve been battered, bruised, and nearly killed by these things. Please just be careful.”

He sighed. “Fine.”

They were nearly there when Callie heard a low growl up by the exit. Butch touched her arm. “Was that you?” He asked. She shook her head and pulled her plasma rifle off of her back.

“Feral ghouls.” She whispered back. 

“I thought you said the zombies here were like people.” He asked, looking wide-eyed at the slow-moving shape in the distance.

“Ghouls are, feral ghouls are a different story,” she said as she inched forward with her gun raised, Butch still close at her side. “and don’t let them get too close, they will bite you.” 

“And turn me into a zombie too?” Butch whispered loudly at her.

“Nah, but it’ll hurt like hell.”

There were only two of them, and after considering, she looked at Butch. “You want to take them out?”

He raised his pistol with both hands the way she’d taught him. “Yeah, alright.” He said. “You should uh, probably be ready in case I miss.”

“I’m with you.” She said quietly, raising her rifle and stepping aside so he had a clear shot.

He took a deep breath, and fired on the exhale. Both of them turned, unharmed. Butch, swore, adjusted his stance, and fired twice more. He hit one, who staggered but didn’t fall. The second was now running towards them, and Butch turned his attention there. He fired again, and the ghoul fell.

“Oh shit! I did it!” He said, smiling at Callie. Instead of answering, Callie pointed to the first ghoul, who was shuffling quickly forward. 

“Careful.” She said. Butch turned and shot at it, but missed again. Callie fired, reducing the ghoul to a puddle of plasma goo. Butch let out a nervous laugh before walking up to the one he’d killed. He nudged it with his foot, grimacing at the body.

“Roaches don’t seem all that bad now, huh?” Callie asked.

Butch visibly shuddered. “No. I still hate ‘em. The legs, and the horns and... ugh, no thanks.”

“They don’t have... never mind.” Callie said.

“Antennae, whatever.” He muttered, switching his pistol’s safety back on. They walked to the exit and Butch slowly followed Callie out into the street.

“Wow.” Butch said in a low voice.

“Yeah.” 

The expanse of the mall was still overwhelming to Callie. It was interesting seeing the same feeling reflected in someone else. She nudged his shoulder. “Look, up there.” She up the road. There was a lone super mutant walking away from them. Under his breath, Butch let out a long string of curses. “Stay close,” she said, “there’s never just one of them.”

Neither of them were particularly stealthy people, but they did manage to avoid any trouble until they were right in front of the National Archives. Callie heard the distinct yell and turned quickly to see one they’d seen earlier bolting towards them. She had her rifle up in a flash, and it was dead on the floor before Butch could even aim his pistol. There was gunfire behind them, and Callie could see three on the horizon. They hadn’t fired at her and Butch, and Callie got them inside the archives before they were spotted. 

With her back stiffly against the front door, Callie looked around the room. It was dimly lit and dilapidated, like it had seen a few battles. She turned her head to look at Butch and tried not to smile at his shocked expression. “Doing alright?” She asked.

He ran a comb through his slightly disheveled hair. “Oh, yeah. Just great.” He said sarcastically before a nervous laugh escaped his lips. “Shit, that thing was big.”

Callie smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it Come on.”

They walked through the lobby and into a large rotunda. Before Callie could take in the whole room she heard a voice yell “Stop!”

She froze, holding her hand over Butch’s forearm before he could raise his pistol. With her other hand, she slowly held up her plasma rifle above her head to show her finger was far from the trigger. Only then did she discover the source of the voice. There was a barricade on the far side of the room, and crouched there, behind an automatic weapon, she saw the side of a face.

“There are mines all over this room, and we’re between waves of super mutants. If you want to stay alive and help me take them out, take the left path, but watch your step.”

Butch tensed under her hand, but she slowly removed it and walked along the left path. There was rubble, broken furniture and dead super mutants lining the ground. When they were halfway across the room, the gun trained on them lowered and the woman behind it stood up and gave them a curious look.

“Vault Girl?” she asked. Callie, now able to see who was talking to her, recognized the woman she’d nearly knocked down outside of Rivet City weeks before.

“Sydney, right? The treasure hunter?”

Sydney nodded. “Get over here, they’ll be back any second.”

With Sydney’s guidance, they got behind her makeshift barricade. She pointed out the best vantage points, and had them stand near each other close to a pile of ammo and knives on the ground. Once she and Butch were in place, Callie turned back to Sydney. “Good to see you again. I’m Callie, and this is Butch.”

Sydney took in the vault suit Butch wore. “Another one? He looks pretty green.”

Callie was confused. Butch looked nervous, but not sick. “He’s fine.” She said to Sydney. “What are you doing here?”

“Working on a job. If we survive the next half hour I’ll tell you all about it.” Sydney said, scanning the area in front of them. Although she couldn’t imagine a group of super mutants being able to sneak up on them, she turned her attention to the entranceway. She loaded a fresh cell into her rifle, felt for the pistol at her hip, and ensured the two knives she was currently carrying were strapped in place. She reached into the outside pocket of her pack and took out her leather raiders cap with the faux pigtails. She pulled it on and adjusted the attached goggles. From her left, she heard muffled laughter. She turned towards Butch, who was trying to hide his smile.

“Problem?” She asked.

“Nope. No problem.” He said, then, almost as if he couldn’t stop himself, “I just hope you’re not expecting me to take you seriously in that thing.”

She frowned at him, but behind her, she heard another snort of laughter from Sydney. Butch, still trying not to smile, now looked guilty, like she was about to start yelling. Fair enough. She’d been pretty harsh since he’d shown up. Callie carefully placed her rifle on the ground in front of her so she could flip both of them off at the same time. The others burst out laughing, and Callie shook her head. She couldn’t help but laugh as well. “You can both go to hell, I like this thing.”

“Whatever gets you through the day.” Sydney said, still smiling at her expense.

The noise they were making must have attracted attention. In the distance, they could hear the loud thump of large footsteps. Callie picked up her weapon and propped it up against the barricade in front of her. Unbidden, her mind flashed to the last time she’d faced an onslaught. Dark power armor, and plasma flashes around every corner. A sadistic man in a long tan coat. Her father’s hand on the glass. Run.

Her heart was in her mouth, and she was suddenly breathing too fast. She swallowed hard and shook her head. When that did nothing to calm her down, she started to worry about how she was going to handle this. She took a deep breath and let it go as slowly as she could, realizing only then that she’d been biting down on the inside of her cheek. She looked at Sydney to her right, looking as formidable as she had the last time she saw her. Sydney was ready to handle this herself, and Callie had no doubt of her skills. She reminded herself that she knew she could shoot under pressure, and this time she wasn’t alone. She looked to her left to find Butch looking at her with concern, as if he could tell she was upset. Had she been breathing too loudly, or had he suddenly become intuitive? Either way, she had no more time to dwell. There was a loud roar from outside the rotunda and three mutants came charging round the right corner at the same time.

“Shit.” Butch yelled, but it wasn’t long before they all fell amid a hail of bullets and plasma.

“Stay sharp, there’s more.” Sydney yelled. Butch reloaded as Callie picked off the first one to come around the left corner. More followed, enough to clog the whole entranceway. 

“Shit. Shit!” Butch repeated. As his panic increased, Callie’s was lessening. This was not the last time. This was not the Enclave. This was a room full of super mutants, and she was getting pretty good at killing super mutants. Still, there was an alarmingly large number of them in the room now. Callie reloaded as quickly as she could, but there were two moving fast down the middle of the room. Before they could get close, one of them triggered a mine, sending it flying into the other. The room was becoming deafeningly loud as more mines exploded. They all ducked behind the barricade at the same time as a larger mutant than the rest stepped into the room with a minigun. It started firing with no regard that there were more of its own kind between the gun and the barricade. Sydney crawled closer to Callie and started looking through the pile of ammo till she found a tote bag. To Callie’s surprise, Sydney had a smile on her face.

“Here we fuckin’ go.” She said, opening the bag and pulling out several bottles that she had turned into Molotov Cocktails. She pulled a silver lighter out of her pocket and lit one after giving it a good shake. She rose to her knees and hurled one after the other at the mutant with the minigun.

“No! Fire!” It yelled as it ignited. From Callie’s other side, she heard a loud laugh.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Butch said. “Fire bad, ya son of a bitch!”

The minigun stopped firing soon after, and Callie looked up over the barricade. There were two left, walking instead of running, but still approaching and yelling their usual threats. Callie focused, glanced quickly at her Pipboy, and kept firing until they both dissolved into goo.

Still smiling, Sydney stood up and held out a hand to pull Callie up. Once she was on her feet, Sydney shook her hand and turned to Butch and pulled him up in the same manner. “I have to say, I was a little worried before you guys showed up, but that was great. I owe you one.” 

Butch nodded. He looked dazed, but Callie wasn’t surprised. The fight was over, but the adrenaline was still coursing through. Sydney cracked her knuckles and holstered her impressive looking gun. Callie held her rifle loosely at her side. “So,” she said, “you were about to tell me about the job you were doing, and I was about to ask if it was the same one as ours.”

“Depends.” Sydney said, “Have you been talking to Abe?”

“Washington? Yes.” 

Sydney kicked a rock in front of her. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I got distracted by other business before I got to this. Did he think I died?”

Callie raised her eyebrows. “Actually, he didn’t mention you at all.”

Sydney didn’t seem bothered. “That makes sense. I’d be a lot less likely to do a job if I knew the guy before me had died trying to do it. But whatever, what do you say we see what we can find in this dusty old place and split what we find three ways. We’ll sweep the rooms a lot quicker together, and I’m already over this.” She sounded suddenly bored, as if they hadn’t just been fighting for their lives.

Callie turned to Butch. “Let me just have a chat with my associate here.” 

Sydney shrugged and sat down at a terminal behind the barricade that Callie hadn’t noticed before. She walked out of earshot, being careful not to set off any leftover mines. Butch followed at her heel. “How’re you holding up?”

Butch looked annoyed. “Fine. I’m fine.”

“Because if you want to go, we can go.” She said. She watched as his face grew even more distant. “I’m serious, Butch. This is a hell of a lot to take in, and we don’t have to do it all at once. Trust me, I know how drastic of an adjustment this is, and I won’t think any less of you if you want to go.”

His expression softened. “I didn’t think you could think less of me.” 

Callie gave him a small smile. “Come on now, there are at least a few people I like less than you.”

He smiled back. It looked like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He combed his hair again and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Cal, but I’m fine. Let’s go steal some history.”

Callie nodded before turning back to Sydney. “All right, we’re in. Do you have a plan, or should we pick a hallway?”

Sydney motioned for them to approach, stoping them when they stood on a large square on the floor. “I’m on it. Watch this.” 

She hit a button, and as the square platform started to slowly lower, Sydney hopped on with them.

“Do we know what’s down there?” Butch asked, looking down at the platform.

Sydney chuckled and drew her own weapon again. “Fortune and glory, Kid, fortune and glory.”

Butch seemed too engrossed in the lowering floor to even hear her, but Callie smiled. Sydney seemed perfectly at ease, which Callie admired. In spite of her reasons for inviting them along, Callie had no doubt she could handle all of this herself. She’d been nothing but friendly to both of them, so why did Callie feel so intimidated? She dismissed the thought. It never hurt to have a healthy respect for those who could easily beat her down.

As soon as the platform stopped, they heard a deep robotic voice down the corridor. For the first time since they’d arrived, there was a hint of fear in Sydney’s voice. “Sentry bot.” She hissed, plastering herself to the nearest wall.

“What’s a sentry bot?” Butch whispered back. 

Sydney closed her eyes. “Fuck. I knew you two were too green for this.”

There was no mistaking her meaning this time, and it irked Callie. While she’d managed to so far avoid actually fighting an active sentry bot, she had taken one apart with Moira for parts. She knew enough about them to feel confident in her next actions. She walked past Sydney, shooting her a look as she passed, and started jogging down the hallway towards the voice. She heard Butch call her name, but she ignored him. Why she felt the need to prove herself to Sydney she wasn’t sure, but that’s what she was going to do. 

She turned a corner, and was greeted not by a sentry bot, but by a rusty old Mr. Gutsy that called her a communist and swiped at her with its saw attachment. Callie grabbed its arm and brought the butt of her rifle down on its elbow joint. It sparked, and Callie pulled it around her so she stayed out of range of its laser blast, which it started firing repeatedly. She kept twisting it around till she could get a good shot at its weak spots, and before long it lay sparking at her feet. She heard the voice of the sentry bot now. It appeared out of a nearby room just as Callie hurled the Mr. Gutsy at it. A missile blast hit it within seconds. This time she heard Sydney calling her name, but there was no time to address that. She ran up to the imposing robot before it could load another missile. She swung herself onto its back and pulled out her knife. It lurched forward, and sped down the hall with Callie still hanging onto its back. 

“Stop. This is a restricted area.” It repeated, as Callie smashed the panel on its back. She found the wires she was looking for and after a precarious minute where she was sure it would knock her off, was able to cut them. The bot sagged forward, and Butch and Sydney watched as Callie clambered back down to the floor. 

She couldn’t help herself and smirked at Sydney. “I ain’t that green.”

Sydney looked amused. “There’s a difference between experience and having a death wish, you know.” She said, passing Callie and walking down the hallway.

“Hey, I knew what I was doing.” Callie called. Behind Sydney’s back, she leaned towards Butch. “Kinda.” She added.

“And they called me reckless.” Butch said. They shared a smile. Callie felt more in her element now, and while her intention wasn’t solely to impress her companions, she couldn’t help showing off a little. Fighting her way through an old building was something she was getting used to, but it was far easier with people watching her back. Butch examined the sentry bot as they passed, and tightened his grip on his pistol. The next batch of hostile robots they met were harder to bring down, but between Sydney’s grenades and Callie’s plasma rifle, they eventually took them out. Callie had been learning the ins and outs of the standard computer systems, but Sydney was far better. She gave Callie a quick lesson in how to best hack in.

“That’s so much faster than how I’ve been doing that.” Callie said as another set of turrets powered down. Sydney was quick and efficient with everything she did. It spoke to her experience and skill, and Callie watched everything she did closely.

They were able to find a few things they weren’t expecting. Out of breath and tired, Callie unrolled a parchment from a safe. Butch looked over her shoulder. “Magna Carta? Isn’t that a British thing?”

Sydney came over. “A copy of a very important British thing. Bag it.”

Callie carefully put it back in its container and placed it in her bag. They’d amassed a lot of interesting things amongst the junk, and after another half an hour, they walked back to the entrance with full packs. Callie held the Declaration in her hands, looking over it in awe. It was just a piece of paper, but the history and importance of it was not lost on her. She gently rolled it into a tube and passed it to Sydney, who put it in her pack.

“That’s not something you do every day.” Callie said with a smile.

Sydney adjusted the powdered wig she wore and turned to Butch. “I can’t believe you made it think I was Thomas Jefferson.”

He shrugged. “It seemed like the easiest way.”

Sydney laughed. “I wouldn’t have thought of that in a million years. You kids are okay.”

Callie saw Butch flinch at the same time she did when Sydney called them kids. She opened her mouth to protest, but realized that anything she said would probably prove Sydney’s point. She decided to ignore it. “So, back to Rivet City?”

Sydney nodded. “Yes. We need to get paid, and we need to get drunk. Well, I do. You two can come with me if you want.”

Butch looked at Callie, who nodded at him. At the front door to the archives, Sydney removed the wig, and Callie and Butch followed her back out to the mall.


	23. Holes In The Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Am I Blue? - Annette Hanshaw  
> Moonlight Serenade - Santo and Johnny

The walk back was far shorter with Sydney, who knew a few shortcuts. They arrived back at Rivet City’s marketplace a half hour before it closed. Callie started looking through her bag for what she could sell, and between her and Sydney, they gave Butch a crash course on what was valuable and which vendors payed more for certain items. Once they’d lightened their packs, Sydney insisted on buying them burgers at Gary’s. Butch took one bite and looked like he’d found heaven.

“I had no idea meat could taste like this.” He said.

“I know,” Callie said, before turning to Sydney to explain, “We only had canned meat in the vault.” 

After they ate, they went to to the Preservation Society. Abraham Washington was surprised to see them together, but was overjoyed when they showed him what they’d brought him. He started pulling empty frames off the wall, and it looked like he’d had a place of honor set up for some time. He was happy to see the Magna Carta, even happier with the Bill of Rights, but when he say the Declaration, tears welled up in his eyes. He gave them more than Callie expected. Even split three ways, Callie could feel the extra weight in her pack.

Sydney had a smile on her face as she led them down to The Muddy Rudder, where she was well acquainted with Belle and the regulars. They sat down at a table with a bottle of whiskey, and Sydney was all too happy to talk about her adventures.

After nearly two hours of doing most of the talking, Sydney took out a large, rolled up piece of paper. Callie leaned in with interest. “Holding out on old Abe?”

Sydney took a drink and then shook her head. “This isn’t something he’d care about.” She placed the paper on the table, and arranging their bottles over the edges so it stayed flat.

“Railway rifle? That looks nasty.” Callie said, looking over the schematic. “You know I could probably put this together for you. Tomorrow, that is.” 

Sydney looked at the paper for a moment. “Fuck it. Let’s make it right now.”

Callie was still sober enough to know it wasn’t a great idea, but she was just drunk enough to want to do it anyway. She hefted her pack onto her lap and started searching for parts. Sydney, who had been collecting weapon parts for a long time, had most of what Callie didn’t. Butch went to order them another bottle of whiskey, and they set to work.

After another hour, their laughter filled not only the bar, but the hallway outside. Callie happened to glance up at the balcony just as Chief Harkness walked brusquely in. She waved to him with her left hand, as her right currently held the slapped together rifle they’d made.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asked loudly from the balcony.

Callie looked at the rifle in her outstretched hand, then at the dart board she was aiming at. She grinned up at him. “Knitting a sweater, obviously.” Butch snickered, and Callie joined him in laughing at her own bad joke.

The chief didn’t look any less angry as he stormed down the stairs and up to them. Callie tried to wipe the smile off her face to look more serious but was having a hard time. Before he could say anything, she pointed to the rifle. “Want a turn?”

He looked shocked. Shocked and a little blurry. Butch laughed again, and Callie turned around and shushed him loudly. She looked back at the chief. “Here, I’ll show you.”

She closed one eye, aimed, and shot at the dart board. The rifle let out an absurdly loud train whistle as a railway spike embedded itself near the bottom of the board. She looked at Harkness, but he was looking at Belle, exasperated.

Belle, however, was on their side. “I don’t give a fuck. They’ve spent more than anyone else has in a week. That’s worth a few holes in my piece of shit wall.”

Callie smiled. “See. We’re allowed. I wouldn’t just do that. I do things for a reason you know.” She lowered the gun and pointed a finger at him as she spoke. If she squinted her eyes, she could almost imagine she saw humor in his eyes.

“And what exactly is the reason for this?”

She looked down at the gun. “Uhh...”

Butch spoke up. “For fun. Man, you need to loosen up. I’ll bet you a drink you can’t hit the bullseye.”

Harkness looked between the three of them, then at the gun. “That thing looks like it might explode in my hand.”

Butch laughed, but Sydney came to stand next to Callie. “We were a lot more sober when we put it together. It might not be pretty, but it’s safe. This one’s real good with machines.”

Callie had to look away at that. When she looked back up at the chief, he held his hand out for the rifle, which she handed over. He looked it over, and with the same fluid motion, extended his arm and fired, hitting just left of the bullseye. Callie broke into a delighted smile as Butch and Sydney laughed and applauded. Butch shuffled over to the bar. “Close enough. What’ll you have?”

The chief looked at Butch. “Get yourself some water, all of you,” he looked back at the two women, “and be careful with this. I’ll give you half an hour, then I don’t want to hear any more.”

He passed the gun back to Callie, who handed it to Sydney. For the first time, she realized Harkness wasn’t wearing his usual uniform. He wore a black tee shirt and navy sweatpants. He looked more casual, less stuffy. She was about to tell him it was a good look on him, but had another thought. “Oh, hell, I’m sorry. Did we wake you up?”

He didn’t answer her question, but he did look a little less grumpy than when he’d walked in. “Half an hour, okay?”

She reached out to touch his arm, then decided against it. “We’ll stop now, we’re just being stupid.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Callie.” He said. He nodded at the rest of the bar, and left without another word. 

As soon as he was gone, Sydney slapped her on the shoulder. “Ooh, you got in trouble.”

“Yeah. I think he’s gonna chew me out tomorrow.”

With a yawn, Sydney stretched her arms. “All right. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Butch looked like he was going to say something, but Sydney cut him off. “Alone.”

Butch held out his hands defensively. “I was just saying goodnight.”

Sydney shrugged. “Night.”

She walked off, and Butch stood next to Callie as they watched her climb the stairs and leave the bar. “She is hot though.”

“Yeah.” Callie replied. 

Butch looked at her sharply. “Seriously?”

She grit her teeth and braced herself. “Yeah.” 

“Oh. Okay.”

Callie reeled back. “Okay? You’re just... you’re just okay with that?”

Butch swayed slightly beside her. “I don’t know, I’m not saying I would have been a hundred percent cool with it a few years ago, but really, it’s just sort of like... who cares, you know?”

Callie sat down at their table, which was covered with bottles, glasses, and bits of machinery. Butch sat down next to her and she eyed him suspiciously. What a strange day. She wondered if he would feel differently tomorrow, if he remembered any of this. She watched as he clumsily combed his hair. “You know, I had a good time today.” She said.

“Yeah. Think Syd’s really gonna take us to that Underworld place tomorrow?”

“Yeah. It’s not too far from where we found her.” Callie said, then she groaned. “The mall’s going to be real fun with a hangover.”

“Shit, I didn’t think of that.”

She smiled, then looked him over. “You say you’ve been here for days, where do you sleep?”

He pointed to the back corner of the bar. “Belle said I could use the cot in the back for a while till I find my own place.

She nodded. “Good. I should head up to the common room. My eyes are getting heavy.”

“I’ll walk with you. I need some air before I turn in.”

It felt like a very long trip up stairs and back out to the flight deck. They both stumbled over their own feet a little, but Callie kept them far enough away from the edge to be in any danger. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The air was sharp and cold, and felt good on her face, which had turned pink from a combination of drinking and stair climbing. 

Beside her, Butch sighed. “What a day. I really gotta thank you for this.”

She opened her eyes to look at him, and leaned up against the side of the ship. “Thanks for not being a jerk. You’re not that bad of a bad guy when you want to be.”

He stood next to her, looking out over the ruins. “I do, ya know. Want to be.” He said in a low voice, then shrugged. “It doesn’t make me any less of a badass though.”

Callie smiled. “Sydney’s the badass. We’re just tagging along.”

“Nah, Man. We’re definitely badasses.” He said, crossing his arms. “There’s a reason you’re wearing that jacket, Cal. C’mon. Come on and say it.”

“What, that I’m a badass?”

He looked pointedly at her. “No.”

It took her a second before she understood his meaning, and when she did she let out a loud snort. “I’m not saying that.”

He continued to stare at her, and when she didn’t respond he nudged her shoulder, and she laughed as it almost knocked her off balance. “Okay, okay, fine. We rule.”

“Louder.”

“We rule!”

He laughed with her. “Damn right we do.”

They parted ways in the stairwell. Callie’s walk to the common room was a bit of a blur, and the next thing she remembered was that it was morning, and everyone around her was making too much noise. Callie put a hand over her eyes to shield them against the light. Her head throbbed, and from the way the room swayed it felt like the ship had cast off overnight. She went to rub her eyes, but instead stared at her hand in confusion. In sloppy penmanship, she’d written: Breakfast, 9 W.

She groaned as the memory came back. The three of them had planned to meet at the Weatherly at nine o’clock, then Sydney was going to show them around Underworld. Callie had been there once, months ago, and had felt like she was intruding. Sydney kept insisting that they had to go, and they’d agreed without much convincing.

It was almost nine already. Callie shifted in her cot, and looked down at herself. No wonder she was uncomfortable. She’d taken her jacket and shirt off, and was lying sprawled out in her sports bra, pants and boots. She fumbled for her pack and chose a clean grey tank top and a crocheted sweaters to wear on top, a cozy green one that was her favourite of the ones she’d pulled from her mother’s locker. It smelled like dust, with a faint hint of citrus. She wondered if she’d made it herself, and it felt like she was hit in the stomach when she remembered that there was no one left to ask. Maybe Dr. Li, but even that was a maybe. Callie put her head in her hands. She couldn’t think about that now. She had things to do today. 

She stood up, breathing through the wave of nausea that hit her as she did. On unsteady legs, she made her way slowly to the hotel.

“Good morning.” Vera called in her sing-song voice. Butch was sitting at one of the tables, hunched over a bottle of purified water and looking about as miserable as Callie felt.

“I’m in over my head, Cal.” He said as she nearly fell into the seat across from him. “I thought I could drink, but I can’t.”

Callie rested her head on her hand. “You’ll be fine. Don’t be dumb.”

“You’re dumb.” He grumbled, rubbing his temples. 

Vera came by, and Callie ordered a water and closed her eyes. She didn’t open them again until someone slapped her on the back. She looked up angrily to see Sydney smiling down at her.

“Boy, do you two look rough. How’re you feeling?”

Callie blinked at her. “Peachy.”

Sydney sat down next to her and called Vera back over. She ordered them all fried eggs and potatoes with a smile on her face. She was in far too good of a mood for Callie’s liking, and she seemed to think their pain was hilarious.

“That was pretty good last night. Today’s going to be a whole different kind of fun. We’ll head out when we’re done here, and should be at underworld by 2pm. I’ll show you the sights, we’ll say hi to everybody, and then I’ll show you a bar with real drinks. Not that watered down stuff Belle has.”

Butch swallowed hard. “Real drinks?”

Sydney just laughed. Callie was close to refusing her, but decided against it. Not going meant she had to find something to do here that wasn’t going to the citadel. She looked at Butch, who was busy shoveling food into his mouth. It still felt strange being at the same table as him, but the fun she’d had the day before was because of, rather than in spite of him. She just hoped it would last. That his surprisingly thoughtful and decent attitude wasn’t just out of pity, or because he needed a tour guide.

They paid for their meals, and despite Callie’s objections, headed towards the exit via the marketplace. She wondered if it would be more awkward to ignore Harkness, or to actually talk to him. In the marketplace, he made the decision for her, walking up to them as soon as he saw them.

“Morning.” He said, looking at each of them before addressing Callie. “Do you have a minute?”

Butch snickered, but stopped when Callie shot him a dirty look. She looked to Sydney, who stood on her other side. “Why don’t you guys go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

“Sure.” Sydney said. “There are a couple of things I forgot to pick up yesterday, if we’re not still in here, we won’t be far.” 

She motioned for Butch to follow her, and walked towards Seagrave’s shop. Callie looked back at Harkness, who made a similar gesture to her. She followed him back into the stairwell, half jogging to keep up with his brisk pace.

“Where are we going?” She asked. She was beginning to sweat as they ascended the stairwell.

“To the upper deck. This won’t take long.”

Callie stopped. “Do we have to go all the way up there? I’m so hungover right now.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He said. He stopped at the next landing and looked around to see if anyone else was there. Callie slowly climbed the rest of the stairs to meet him.

“Okay. What do you need?” She asked, leaning heavily against the rail behind her.

He looked annoyed, but not specifically at her. Then again, it wasn’t that far off from the expression he usually wore. “I had this planned differently.”

Callie gave him a weak smile. “You were going to throw me off the balcony, weren’t you?”

That earned her a small smile in return. He was silent for a moment, then looked at her intently. “First of all, I need to apologize. The last time we were up there talking I was upset, but I understand why you did what you did. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did.”

His words caught Callie off guard, and she couldn’t meet his eyes when she mumbled a “thank you”.

“And second, I need to thank you.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Callie started, but he held up a hand.

“I wasn’t thinking logically when I went after Zimmer.” He said. He spoke in such a hushed voice that Callie had no choice but to lean in to hear him. “I was so angry. I wanted to kill him. I would have too if you hadn’t been there.”

He paused again, and Callie didn’t speak for fear of interrupting his train of thought. As she waited, she couldn’t help but marvel at him. He was an android, an artificial life, but he was still so full of life. As she watched the muscles in his jaw clench as he thought, she was reminded of all the people she’d met who were far less human than he. “But...” he finally said, “killing them would have been the wrong decision. I know the protocol for tracking down... those like me, and there’s no way Zimmer would have come all this way just for one runner. Even for me.”

“What do you mean?” Callie asked.

“It means I doubt that it was actually him that was here. If I’m right, killing the android he sent would have alerted him that I was here, and brought hell down on this place. It would be the end of me, or at least, the end of me as I want to be. And I would have just killed another of my kind.” He held out his hand for her to shake. “So thank you, for saving my life.”

She took his hand. It felt formal, but at the same time, it was very him. His grip was strong and warm as she shook it, and he placed his other hand on top of hers. Although reluctant to give him his hand back, she released him and touched the rifle on her back. “You saved me too, you know. When they came...” she trailed off, feeling the bile rise in her stomach, “I wouldn’t have made it out of there if it weren’t for this. I wouldn’t have been able to save the people I could-” She stopped when the lump in her throat prevented her from saying more. He leaned over and reached out. When she didn’t shy away, he placed a hand on her shoulder. He didn’t speak, but the gesture was more comforting than anything he could have said. It took her a minute to regain her composure, but once she did she let out a slightly strained laugh. “So what I’m really trying to say is that I still owe you one.”

He laughed, a quiet rumble in his throat. He removed his hand and straightened up. “You don’t owe me anything,” he said kindly, “and if you still want do do some target practice, my offer still stands.” He started to walk away, then turned back. “And please, be careful out there. Especially if you’re going to be using that pile of scrap metal you put together yesterday.”

She felt a little embarrassed, but still smiled. “Thanks, Chief.”

Once she was back out in the open air, her head felt a little better. She found Butch and Sydney just outside of the city. They seemed to be having a spitting contest off the side of the bridge outside when Callie approached them. Sydney was laughing again. “You just missed it, he almost yakked right over the side here.”

“I didn’t, I just burped.” Butch said, irritated.

“Either way, gross. Let’s get out of here.” Callie said, feeling surprisingly content despite her headache.

Once they were down on solid ground, Sydney walked ahead, and Butch tapped Callie on the shoulder to slow down. He waited to speak till Sydney was out of earshot. “Why are you all flustered around that guy? I thought you were into girls?”

“I wasn't flustered. And I didn’t say I was only into girls.” She replied. She was surprised he’d remembered what she’d said, and even more so that he brought it up so casually.

“And that’s a thing? I didn’t know.” He said.

“Neither did I.” She said. She zipped up her jacket as they walked. The weather had gotten colder lately, and there was a biting wind in the air.

“What changed?” He asked, sounding curious rather than accusatory.

“I slept with a woman.”

He stopped. “What?” He said loudly. Sydney looked back at them and frowned.

“Come on, do you want to draw a pack of muties down on us? Shut up.”

Butch turned around and walked backwards so he could look at Callie as they walked. “So you’re just out here having sex with everybody, huh?”

“Not everybody.” She said, kicking a small rock in his direction. “And anyway, what’s it to you?”

“Nothin’, it’s just weird. I figured you’d be too high and mighty for that.”

She looked indignantly at him. “Too high and mighty for sex? What the hell are you talking about. Besides, it’s not like I left the vault a virgin, you know.”

That seemed to shock him even more, then he broke into a sneer. “With who? Freddy? What a dweeb.” He laughed. “I was gonns say how freakin’ cool you’ve gotten since you got out, but I forgot you was with Freddy for a while. Never mind.”

She looked at him, disgusted. This was far more of what she was expecting from him. She could have said all kinds of things, how he shouldn’t be mean to Freddy, even though they would probably never see him ever again. Or the fact that she’d told him he didn’t want to be an asshole anymore, and he was being an asshole. There was plenty she wanted to say, but she decided to pick her battles and not get into anything too serious. “Aw, go boil your head, Butch.” She said instead, and jogged away to catch up with Sydney. Behind her, she could hear him laugh loudly. It wasn’t a mocking, or hateful sound, just a genuine, good natured laugh. Maybe, she thought, just maybe, they could actually be able to be friends. The thought put a smile on Callie’s face, as Sydney turned back and told him to shut up again.


	24. Shade And A Haircut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Let The Good Times Roll - Louis Jordan  
> What’s The Use Of Getting Sober - Louis Jordon

“You were right, Syd, this place is something else.” Butch said, as they sat inside The Ninth Circle.

“You got that right.” Sydney said, pouring them all shots out of the bottle of vodka she’d ordered. She raised her glass and motioned to the other two to do the same. They toasted, and drank. Immediately, Butch and Callie began to cough violently. 

“I told you the drinks here were stronger.” Sydney said, laughing. “Ghouls have a way higher alcohol tolerance than we do. So it’s a lot cheaper to get fucked up.”

“Holy shit.” Callie sputtered, her eyes watering. “I don’t think I can keep drinking that.” She still felt drained from the night before, and since she didn’t want to black out before it was fully dark outside, she decided to see what else the bar had to offer.

“Careful around Ahzrukhal.” Sydney said in a low voice, looking towards the bartender at the other end of the room. “He’ll act like your friend, but he wouldn’t lose any sleep if anyone in here turned up dead.”

Callie nodded. “Thanks. Starting anything in this place seemed like a bad idea anyway. Did you see how tall the bouncer is?”

Sydney smiled. “Don’t get offended if he doesn’t talk to you. He wouldn’t talk to me at first either.”

Callie stood up and approached the counter. “Hi, do you have any recommendations for me and my friend over there?”

“Can’t handle the good stuff, huh?” The bartender said with a gravelly laugh, turning away from her. Callie stood at the bar, wondering if she was being ignored, but after a minute he turned back and placed two pink cocktails with little umbrellas sticking out of them onto the bar.

“Oh.” Callie said.

“Problem?” He asked, his tone daring her to argue.

“Nope. No problem.” Callie said with a tight smile. She paid and returned to their table. Sydney looked amused. Butch did not.

“I ain’t drinking that.” He said.

“Aw, just drink it.” Callie said, feeling a little silly herself. She checked her Pipboy for the time. It was only four thirty, and while Sydney seemed happy to sit around and drink, Callie was starting to feel restless. “After this I want to go have a better look around.”

“Yeah. I’ll go with you.” Butch said, taking a sip of the pink drink.

“How is it?” Callie asked.

Butch considered. “You know, it’s not bad.”

Callie took a drink and nodded her agreement. It was sweet, which cut the strength of the alcohol down to a drinkable level. She had no idea how Sydney was gulping back the vodka the way she was.

After they finished their pink drinks, they left Sydney at the bar and left through the back door. “God.” Butch muttered as they walked.

“What?”

“Nothing, just this place, man. Sydney said some of these folks are hundreds of years old, and they’re stuck here with nowhere else to go. It reminds me of home, but not in a good way.”

“I hadn’t thought about it like that.” Callie said. “The difference, I guess, is that this place is a safe haven, rather than a prison. I’ve been in two vaults now, and both were different types of cages.”

“Two?”

“I, uh...” Callie said, trailing off before she began. If she told him about Tranquillity Lane, she’d have to talk about her father. Surprisingly enough, Butch picked up on her unease.

“Tell me some other time. Let’s go talk to the guy with the scissors.”

She followed him over to where a grey-haired ghoul was looking at them with great interest. When the man, named Snowflake, began talking about hair, Butch’s eyes lit up. Callie didn’t have much to add to the conversation about styling techniques, but Butch was in his element. It kept surprising Callie, how decent Butch was with other people out here. When he had nothing to prove, he was actually good company. Was the change of scenery all it took, or had he always been as personable? She’d only known him as an adversary, and while there was no doubt in her mind that he could be one hell of a jackass, it was nice to be reminded there was more to him than that.

She was shaken out of her musings when she realized both men were staring at her. “What?” She asked warily.

“Your roots need touching up.” Butch said with a smirk, patting a nearby chair and motioning for her to sit down.

“You’re drunk!” She blurted out.

“I’ve had two drinks, and Snowflake here never gets to work with a full head of hair. Trust me, we know what we’re doing.”

Wasn’t she just thinking about how nice he’d been? If she wanted them to be friends, she was going to have to start trusting him sooner or later. At least today he had supervision. She slowly sat down in the chair. “What are you going to do?”

“Cut, color, and style. If you’re game of course.” Snowflake said. 

Callie nodded. He opened up a large suitcase full of supplies. An empty Jet container fell out of it, which didn’t make Callie feel too great about this, but she’d already sat down. It was only hair, she told herself. And worst case scenario, she’d seen some hats at the general store they’d passed by on their way in.

“I still like the blue.” She said.

“I got blue. I got a couple of different blues. Greens and yellows too.” He replied, plugging a curling iron into a modified car battery.

Callie sat back in the chair, which leaned back far enough for them to work. She looked up to find Butch brushing her hair, which was weird. She closed her eyes and focused on the music from the nearby radio, and of the two men excitedly talking over her. The types of questions Butch was asking didn’t mean much to Callie, but she could tell Snowflake was as thrilled as Butch to talk about his trade. 

It took a long time, and Callie wished she’d had another drink. She was half asleep when Butch nudged her shoulder and told her they were done. Snowflake proudly handed her a mirror, and held another up so she could see the back of her head. Her roots were a similar shade to what she’d had before, but it faded to a lighter, sky blue at the ends. They’d curled her hair so it fell in loose waves around her face, and it had been cut into layers, which felt lighter. “This is... wow. Thank you.” She said, carefully running a hand through it. Callie was usually fairly comfortable with her moderate level of attractiveness, but with this, she actually felt pretty. She smiled into the mirror before standing up and shaking Snowflake’s hand.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked.

“Oh, nothing at all. It was my pleasure. Just come back once in a while. It’s nice to talk with people again. Or smoothskins, I guess. That’s what we’re supposed to call you, right?”

Callie smiled. “Hey, you made me look so good, you can call me whatever you want.”

He laughed, and they parted ways. Sydney had already made sleeping arrangements for them at the inn across from the bar, so they went downstairs to see what else was going on. 

“That guy really knew his stuff.” Butch said.

“You seemed like you were having a good time. And that was a hell of a lot better than a Mr. Handy haircut.”

Butch snickered. “You let one of those machines cut your hair? No wonder it looked-” He stopped when he noticed her glaring. “-less professional.”

“Nice save.” She said with a smile.

They walked into The Chop Shop, which Callie hoped would be electronics-based, but it turned out to be a clinic. Callie rummaged through her pack to count her stimpaks while Butch started talking to the nurse. She had four. She had been lucky enough not to need any lately, and she hadn’t wanted to waste one on a hangover, but if she was going back up to the bar to drink, she would need at least one to get her away from the mall tomorrow. Looking up from her pack, she watched a ghoul in a lab coat and a clipboard come out of a back room. A back room which held two Glowing Ones. Callie was filled with unease, but that lessened somewhat when she saw the man turn four separate locks on the door.

“I’m Dr. Barrows, this is Nurse Graves. What can we help you with today?”

Callie tore her gaze away from the Glowing Ones. “Uh, hi. Do you have any stimpaks for sale?”

Dr. Barrows walked over to his desk. “Some, yes.” He said, before stopping to look over at Butch. “Please don’t touch my medical equipment.”

Butch, who had been picking up nearly everything in reach, put down the ophthalmoscope in his hand and gave a cheesy smile to the nurse beside him, who also looked annoyed. Callie paid for three more stimpaks, and tucked them into her bag.

“Hey, what’s her deal?” Butch said, pointing to an unconscious non-ghoul woman who lay unconscious on one of the cots.

“Please don’t disturb her. She’s in a coma.”

Callie walked over to where Butch stood. “She looks like she’s in rough shape. What happened?”

“We’re not entirely sure.” Nurse Graves said. “Willow brought her in. She was muttering about her team being attacked, but we don’t know any more than that.”

Callie frowned. “So her team could still be out there.”

“Yes. Possibly.” Dr. Barrows said.

“Will she wake up?” Butch asked.

“Yes. She’s in a medically induced coma to keep the swelling down from her head injury. It’s been two days, but it’s not quite safe to wake her yet.”

Callie stepped closer to the unconscious woman. On the table beside her was a mountain of armor and weapons. “Two days? If they die before she gets to them, she’ll feel awful.”

“Are you a doctor?” He asked, sounding exasperated.

Callie shrugged. “Nah, but I was raised by one. I’m not saying I know more about this sort of thing than you. But if I were her, I’d want to know that my team’s okay. Maybe we can help her with that. Can you wake her up?”

Dr. Barrows sighed, but actually seemed to be considering what Callie had said. “I’ll think about it. Now the clinic will be closing soon-”

“Fair enough. We’ll come back tomorrow.” Callie said, pulling Butch away by the arm. She didn’t want to push, but she did want to help. Maybe she was reading to much into it, but she didn’t like the idea of that woman just lying there while there were people who needed help. 

After walking around a bit more, they went back up to the bar. Sydney had her arm slung around her half empty vodka bottle, and was reading a large book. “Hey!” She said loudly when she saw them. “Callie, look at your hair!”

“Neat, huh?” Callie said with a smile. She sat down and Butch went to the bar to get them another drink. 

“It’s bright.” Sydney said. “I like it.”

“What are you reading?” Callie asked.

“Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor. It’s kind of campy, but it has a lot of good information in it about starting a business out here.”

Callie nodded. After a minute, Butch returned with a scowl on his face, and two green drinks in his hands.

“No pink?” Callie asked with a grin.

“I said I didn’t want anything stupid or girly, and he gave me this.” He said. The drinks still had umbrellas in them, and tasted nearly identical to the pink cocktail they’d had before.

Despite his annoyance, Butch had no problem drinking the electric-looking drink. Callie told Sydney about Snowflake, and the woman they saw in The Chop Shop.

“I’m going back there first thing tomorrow and getting him to wake her up.” Callie said. “If there are people out there in trouble, I want to help them.”

Sydney looked at her for a long moment from over her book. “I thought you were taking a break from all that.”

“From what?” Callie asked, downing the last of her cocktail.

“From helping people. That’s why we’re here isn’t it?”

Callie was taken aback. “I’m not... that’s different.” 

Sydney flipped a page of her book. “That’s not it sounds like from what I heard on the radio.”

“Well, the radio also says there’s superheroes in Canterbury Commons. Why don’t you go get them to fight the fucking Enclave.” Callie spat. She stood up and walked out of the bar.

Where the hell had that come from? Sure, Callie had heard the last thing Three Dog had said about her. Something about how they could call off the search because someone had seen her laughing and drinking at The Muddy Rudder. She’d shut it off before it finished. Sydney had invited them here, how could she say something like that? And why should it bother her so much? So she hadn’t gone to help out the Brotherhood, it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to, she just needed some time.

She went across the hall to Carol’s and sat down at the small bar there. It was nearly empty, and it wasn’t long before the waitress came over. She ordered a whisky, and sat updating her Pipboy inventory. The whiskey tasted like paint thinner, but Callie drank it anyway. She was halfway through the very full glass when Carol came over.

“Something on your mind, honey?” She asked.

Callie gave her a small smile. “Too many things.”

Carol leaned against the other side of the bar. “You came here with Sydney, didn’t you?”

Callie took a drink and tried not to grimace. “I did.”

“She’s a nice girl. A little headstrong and brash, but we need women like that out in the wastes.”

“Yeah, she’s good at what she does.” Callie said. It took some work not to sound bitter.

“How long are you in town?” 

“Just till tomorrow.” Callie said. “This is a nice place you have. It feels... safe.”

Carol clasped her hands together. “What a nice thing to say. That’s exactly what we go for here. It’s horrible outside of these walls. We don’t have much here, but I want to make sure my guests feel looked after.”

She left to attend to another guest, and Callie was left alone at the bar mindlessly fiddling with her Pipboy. After a while, Sydney sat down at the next barstool.

“Hey.” She said.

“Hey.” Callie replied.

“Look, I wasn’t trying to be an asshole, but I know that’s what it sounded like.”

Callie nodded, but didn’t reply. She took a sip from her glass of whiskey, which had been refilled.

Sydney started again. “I want you to know that I get it. I really do.”

Callie looked over at her. “How? How could you possibly-”

“I lost my dad too.” She said, cutting Callie off. “It was always just him and me, till one day without a word, he up and left and I never saw him again. I was just a kid, but it hit me hard. I did everything I could to get away from it. I stopped taking care of myself, I put myself into unhealthy situations because I just didn’t care what happened to me. So I understand wanting to do that, but trust me, it doesn’t help.” She shifted in her seat and took a breath. It looked like she had more to say, so Callie didn’t speak. Sydney continued. “That’s what I was trying to get at before, but I’m drunk and I’m not talking right. My point is, I’m not saying you should run headlong into something stupid, but don’t run too far in the other direction either.” She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I know I’m kind of fucked up right now, but does that make sense?”

“It does.” Callie said, relaxing. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” 

Sydney smiled. Her eyes were unfocused, but she looked relieved. “Likewise. Now I’m going to go pass out.”

Sydney walked away and over to the small beds they’d rented in the next room. Callie finished her drink in silence. She didn’t want Sydney to be right, but she was. She still wanted to find out what was going on with that comatose woman, but she promised herself to be smart about it. 

Soon after, Butch fell into the seat Sydney had been sitting in. “She talked to you, right?” He asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

He shrugged. “She told me she was going to. You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Callie said. “You look drunk.”

Butch’s eyes were almost closed, and he gave a goofy smile. “We finished all that vodka. If that was even vodka, it tasted like floor cleaner.”

“Shit.” Callie said, laughing to herself. “We forgot to eat dinner.”

“Oh. Oops.” Butch said, standing up and stretching. 

They stumbled over each other to the two twin beds next to a third where Sydney was snoring. It was difficult to say which of them had a harder time pulling their boots off, but working together, they managed the task. Before they lay down Callie handed Butch a stimpak.

“Before you stand up tomorrow, use this. It won’t cure the hangover, but it’ll help.”

“Thanks, Callie. Goodnight.” He said, looking nearly asleep already.

“Night, Butch. Thanks for the haircut. And... for everything else.”

She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her, but she was too tired to really care. It didn’t take long for her to settle into the old creaky bed, and drift into a long, dreamless sleep.


	25. A Good Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Liquid Lunch - Caro Emerald  
> Them There Eyes - Ella Fitzgerald

Under the faint hum of the upsettingly bright fluorescent lights of The Chop Shop, Callie gently questioned the freshly conscious woman about her missing team. 

“Please, just get them home. It’s all I want.” The woman, named Reilly, said bleakly. Her team, Reilly’s Rangers, was stuck at the top of a hotel out by Vernon Square, which was apparently surrounded by super mutants. 

As Reilly explained her dilemma, Callie shot a look at Butch. She couldn’t tell if his uneasy look was due to the danger Reilly was describing, or because Callie had found him curled around a toilet an hour ago. She wasn’t feeling much better, and while the idea of braving a whole new part of the city that was teeming with raiders and super mutants didn’t sound like a day at the beach, but it still seemed better than returning to the citadel. They had asked Sydney to come with them to talk to Reilly, but she had insisted that she wasn’t leaving the bar for at least a week.

“This won’t be easy,” Callie said to Butch, “but if we’re careful, we could slip in, get that weapons cache, rescue the team, and shoot our way out with them. A large group might draw too much attention and get swarmed.”

Butch grimaced and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, sure, why not. I got nothin’ else to do today.”

“Thank you.” Reilly said, visibly relieved. “I have armor, guns, if you help them out, I can get you outfitted with whatever you need.”

She looked like she was barely hanging on, and Callie couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for persuading the doctor to wake her early. “Get some rest, we’ll find them.” She told Reilly, who sank back onto the cot she lay on.

After a mostly silent, greasy breakfast at Carol’s, they walked into The Ninth Circle. From the table they’d sat at yesterday, Sydney looked up from her book and waved them over. “You know, you were right about this stuff. A little sweet, but it makes a good breakfast drink.” She said, lifting up a green cocktail.

Butch shuddered. “I can’t even look at that right now.”

Sydney laughed. “You’re heading out, aren’t you. Walking into some death trap, right? Was I right?”

Callie nodded. “Yeah, probably. Are you sure you won’t come with us?”

“Nah.” Sydney said, leaning back in her chair. “But you be careful, all right? The wastes need more decent people like you two.”

They took turns shaking Sydney’s hand before letting her get back to her book. As they left Underworld, Butch looked thoughtful. “I don’t think anybody’s ever called me a decent person,” he said, “it’s weird, you know?”

“Yeah. I know.” Callie said honestly. She’d accepted that the vault had messed with her ability to see herself clearly, but she hadn’t considered it might be the same for Butch. She thought of how angry his mother always was, how the overseer used their little gang for his own means till they broke away, how even Mr. Broach sometimes dismissed what he said as stupid. It didn’t excuse his behaviour, but now that he actually seemed willing to change, she was developing a level of respect for Butch she’d never expected. She didn’t know how to tell him that out loud without sounding sappy, but they shared a smile that made her feel at ease. Despite their rough past, she really was starting to trust him.

They walked outside, and each took a deep breath. Callie’s headache had faded some, thanks to a stimpak and a full stomach. Butch still looked a little queasy, but less like he was about fall over, which was a vast improvement from when they’d first woken up. 

They could hear fighting in the distance, which was hardly surprising for the Mall. Callie reached back for her plasma rifle, and Butch did the same with the automatic shotgun Callie had given him that morning. She hadn’t used it since she’d been given her plasma rifle, and they were really going to attempt this rescue mission, she knew they’d need more than their antique vault pistols.

They were nearly into the war zone of the Mall when all of a sudden, a huge super mutant brute sailed through the air, bouncing once before it hit the ground near them. “Jesus!” Callie yelled, raising her weapon. From the same direction, two brotherhood soldiers stormed towards the monster. One wore a helmet, but the other was instantly recognizable as a scowling Sarah Lyons. She blasted the mutant with her laser rifle as she walked. It yelled out, but Sarah didn’t stop. She marched up to it, fired until she’d killed it, and ripped a set of dog-tags out of its hand.

Callie stepped towards them, with Butch at her heels. Sarah opened a compartment at her hip and put the dog-tags away as they approached. “Sentinel.” Callie said with a nod.

Sarah looked up, her expression softening slightly. “Civilians.”

Callie was a little nervous at seeing them. She knew the Brotherhood wanted her back at the Citadel, and she didn’t want to awkwardly explain why she hadn’t gone back yet. Luckily, Butch broke the silence. “Holy shit, that was something else. What’d you hit it with to make it fly like that?” he asked, looking as impressed as Callie.

The soldier in the helmet laughed. “She kicked it.”

Butch looked stunned, but didn’t say any more.

“What are you doing out here?” Sarah asked them.

“We’re heading out to Vernon Square for a rescue mission.” Callie said, letting her rifle hang by her side, “High risk, very dangerous, we’ll probably die. Wanna come?” 

The faint hint of a smile passed over Sarah’s face. “As tempting as that sounds, I can’t spare any people for you right now. There’s just too much going on. We’re on our way back to the Citadel to report in. You could come with us if you’d like.”

“This can’t wait.” Callie said, avoiding her eyes.

“Actually, Commander, I could report in for us both if you wanted to check this out with them.” The other solider said. 

Sarah frowned, “I was being sarcastic, Glade.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I just thought you might want a change of pace.” Glade replied.

Sarah’s brow furrowed. She looked from Glade to Callie, who held out her arms and gave her a cheesy grin. “Who’s your friend?” Sarah asked.

“Another civilian, but good in a fight.” Callie said seriously. “Butch DeLoria, meet Sentinel Sarah Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel. And... sorry, Glade?”

“Paladin Glade.” The solider said with a nod.

“What kind of rescue? What are we looking at?” Sarah asked.

Callie raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected Sarah to actually consider her offer, but she wasn’t about to dissuade her. “Four of Reilly’s Rangers are trapped at the top of the Statesman Hotel. Access is through the hospital next door. There’s a weapons cache somewhere in between.”

Sarah looked between them again, then turned back to Glade. “You’re sure.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.” Sarah said.

“Wow, just like that?” Callie asked.

“The Brotherhood needs your help, and you can’t help us if you’re dead. I’ll help you with this, but I’m going to have to ask you to come back to the citadel with me once we’re done.”

So, no, not just like that, Callie thought. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “Deal.”

With one more nod to Glade, Sarah started walking to the nearby escalator that led down to the metro tunnels. Callie and Butch followed, with Butch giving Callie a hard look. “You’re okay with that deal?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s fine.” She said, as much to convince herself as him. She took a deep breath, dreading the combination of the smell of the tunnels and her hangover, and followed the Sentinel into the Metro.


	26. Call Me Irresponsible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> St. James Infirmary - Cab Calloway  
> Call Me Irresponsible - Rosemary Clooney

Every time Callie thought she might be getting used to the Metro tunnels, they found a new type of foul smelling sludge to trek through. For once, she was grateful for the dim lighting, as it hid her obvious disgust from her formidable new companion. On the upside, having a Brotherhood Sentinel around had its perks. Traveling through the tunnels with Sydney had made things a little easier, but with Sarah, she and Butch barely had to lift a finger. As soon as a feral ghoul or a raider appeared, it was vaporized by Sarah’s laser rifle. She moved quickly and efficiently, as if she weren’t wearing fifty pounds worth of armor. Callie made a mental note to never get on Sarah’s bad side.

When they stopped for a moment so Sarah could inspect an old computer terminal, Callie approached her, slightly out of breath from how quickly they’d been moving. “It looks like you’ve been doing this your whole life.” She said.

Sarah didn’t look up from the computer. “In some ways, I have.”

“You were the one with Callie when she found that behemoth, right?” Butch asked. “Was it really as big as she says?”

“Probably.” Sarah replied, removing the small hard drive out of the side of the computer and placing it into one of the many compartments in her armor. “They’re about the biggest things you’ll see out here. If you took two or three of the regular kind and stacked them on top of each other, then you’d get a pretty good sense of the scale.”

“Damn.” Butch said.

“Yeah.” Sarah said flatly, before resuming her course down the tunnel. Butch raised his eyebrows at Callie, who smiled at him. Sarah so far had been like every other Brotherhood soldier she’d met. Tight-lipped, strong, and effective, but not exactly friendly. They started following her again, but Callie noticed a slight wobble in Butch’s walk.

“Sarah? Uh, Sentinel?” Callie called. “We gotta to slow down a little. I want to get there as fast as you do, but we just had a pretty rough night.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Sarah said. She didn’t stop, but she did slow her pace considerably. Butch shot Callie a grateful look, and if Sarah weren’t so close, Callie would have told Butch that it was as much for her as it was for him. 

They walked for the better part of the day before emerging back into the light. As Reilly said, the area around Vernon Square was teeming with super mutants. Sarah took the lead again, leading them cautiously around a group of the monsters, and towards the area Reilly had marked on Callie’s Pipboy. “The dry sewers should be just around the next corner.” Callie whispered as the three of them were crouched behind the wreck of an old army truck. 

“Are you getting this too?” Butch asked, holding up his arm. His Pipboy had picked up the Rangers signal. Calle looked down at her own again before nodding.

“Yeah. That’s a good sign. It means they’re still hanging on up there.” Callie said, looking up at the hotel in the distance. 

“We’re too exposed here. We have to move.” Sarah said. “This way.”

They followed her, being as careful as they could to stay quiet amid the chaos around them. There was a group of raiders fighting a larger group of super mutants nearby, and they were lucky enough to go unnoticed until they reached the access tunnel of the sewer they were looking for. The door was locked, but with a swift hit with the butt of Sarah’s rifle, the lock crumbled.

“I’m gonna have to remember that trick.” Callie said.

“It was falling apart already. If that worked on every locked door in the wastes there wouldn’t be any locks left.” Sarah said quietly, closing the door behind them and turning to survey their surroundings. 

The dry sewer turned out to be a maintenance corridor, which was a relief. Callie had more than her fill of sewers for the day. The door into the hospital was at the other end of the hall. Sarah slowly opened it, but immediately took a step back and let it close. She turned her head away from them.

“What?” Callie whispered, and then the smell hit her. The wastes had a particular smell, and the sewers smelled like sewers, but this was different. The hospital smelled distinctly and strongly of death. Callie couldn’t help but gag a little, and she put out a hand behind her to keep Butch from getting any closer. Sarah was coughing, and looked upset. Butch started rooting through a metal storage cupboard behind them. He pulled out a box of surgical masks and held them out. “Here. It’s better than nothing.”

“Thank you.” Sarah said. The three of them covered their faces. It was the first time Callie had seen Sarah have such a strong reaction to anything, and it worried her. The mask felt hot against her face. She adjusted it as Sarah reached for the door again.

“Okay. Let’s try this again.” Sarah said, taking a deep breath, and reaching for the door. As before, she pushed it open gently, but this time it was wrenched the rest of the way open from the other side. The door was ripped off it’s hinges as a super mutant appeared. It swung the sledgehammer it held in its other hand, but Sarah was faster. She had her rifle up before the blow could land, and blasted it backwards. After three shots it was dead. There was a second of silence, before they heard distant movement, and a lot of it. Any chance they had of sneaking their way through was gone.

Sarah was already preparing. She pulled at a panel of her leg armor, which revealed two small mines. “We’ll bottleneck them here, and cut the numbers down. It’s our best shot.” She tossed the mines through the door in opposite directions. “Stay behind me.” She ordered. Callie and Butch took up positions a few steps back on either side of her. Callie clutched her rifle, feeling the familiar weight against her arms, and tried to combat the sinking feeling in her stomach. She could hear the loud footsteps approaching, and waiting in the narrow hallway felt far worse than their recent stand in the archives with Sydney. There was no Brotherhood backup in the mall, nowhere to hide if this didn’t work out. The streets outside were just as full of danger.

The first mine exploded, and the shouting began. A chorus of angry voices. “We can do this.” Sarah said firmly, as if she were sensing Callie’s doubts, “keep breathing, and aim high.”

She fired as the first figure appeared in the doorway, and again. And again. Every time one collapsed backwards, another took its place. After a minute the second mine went off. “Reloading.” Sarah said, stepping backwards. Callie took her place. As powerful as her plasma rifle was, she could only hit one at a time. The bodies that hadn’t disintegrated by their energy weapons were piling up, which helped with keeping them at bay, until a centaur climbed its way over the pile.

“What the FUCK is that?” Butch yelled, firing his automatic shotgun in rapid succession until it was empty as the monster lurched towards them. It spat at them, hitting Butch in the chest. He swore again, and smashed its face in with the butt of the shotgun as it got close. Callie landed the final blow with her rifle, before Butch staggered back, dropping the shotgun and pulling out his pistol.

Sarah stepped past them both and started shooting again. After another grueling five minutes they stopped coming. Butch slouched against the wall.

“Butch!” Callie yelled, grabbing for her pack. He slid down the wall as she approached, hissing out a breath. He pulled at his white teeshirt, where the acidic spit had burned a baseball sized hole just below his collarbone. 

“It’s not bad, I just need a minute.” He said, through gritted teeth. 

“Let me see.” Callie said, pulling out her medical supplies. She didn’t have much, just a few bandages and stimpaks. “Take your jacket off.” She said. 

Callie looked up at Sarah, who held her rifle towards the door, ready for more if any came. Once Butch had removed his jacket, Callie jabbed a stimpak into his arm. She looked through her pack for gauze, and found that didn’t have any alcohol in her pack aside from a bottle of vodka. She pulled it out and shot him a guilty look.

“Go ahead, I can take it.” He said, looking away.

Callie poured the vodka over her hands, and wiped them off on a clean shirt, before soaking one of the gauze pieces. She pressed it against the burn. Butch inhaled sharply, but didn’t say anything. “Sorry.” She whispered as she cleaned the wound. She covered it with some dry gauze and taped it against his skin, as Butch took a drink from the bottle.

He gave a short nod as he got back to his feet and pulled his jacket back on, wincing slightly at the pain. He picked up the shotgun and reloaded it, before looking at Sarah. “Is it always like this out here?”

“It’s been months since I’ve been out this way, but no, this is unusual. I wasn’t expecting as many by half, out there or in here.” She replied. “Now come on, this isn’t a safe place to stay.”

Callie finished putting her things back in her pack, and followed the other two into the hospital. The dimly lit hall was empty now, and Sarah led them slowly and methodically through each room. Callie was able to pick up quite a lot of medical supplies, and wished she’d thought to have a look through the rooms before she’d treated Butch’s wound. It would need more care, and she’d be ready with better equipment when the time came. 

It took them the better part of an hour getting through the first floor. The last room they entered was the main waiting area in the lobby. It had been transformed into a large super mutant camp, and was by far the most horrific one Callie had seen. This was the source of the smell. Body parts were strewn over the desks and the ground, and more hung from the ceiling in bags that still dripped blood. Radroaches climbed over the corpses. She saw Butch shudder and look away, and before he could say anything, Callie quickly dispatched of any bugs she could see. Behind Sarah’s back, he shot her a grateful look.

Again, Sarah looked affected. “This is beyond their usual habits. This is disgusting.” She said. “Let’s not linger.”

Taking the lead again, Sarah led them upstairs. Callie might have had a problem with that if she hadn’t been the best at what she was doing. There were mines and turrets, super mutants and more centaurs, but the numbers were far fewer than on the main floor, and none of them were injured any further beyond some bruises. “Nice work.” Sarah said, as Callie powered down another set of turrets using the hacking techniques she’d learned from Sydney.

“Nice work with... everything you’re doing.” Callie replied. “God, we learned a lot about pre-war society in school, but they never mentioned that there were weaponized turrets in hospitals. It all sounded so squeaky clean and wholesome.”

“I can’t imagine a school curriculum from Vault-Tec would be all that trustworthy.” Sarah said.

“Yeah, I’m starting to figure that out.”

They didn’t say much to each other as they went. They were all exhausted and had seen things they hadn’t ever needed to see. They finally found Reilly’s dead teammate, with the weapons cache still with him. Callie unlocked the cache, and loaded everything into her pack.

“Let me take some of that.” Butch said, as Callie hefted her full bag onto her back. 

“I can do it.” Callie said quickly.

“I’m fine, Callie. You look like you’re going to fall over.” He said, sounding annoyed. He reached for her bag, and she let him take several pounds worth of ammo and supplies out and into his own pack.

“You sure you’re okay?” Callie asked him. She still felt shaky, and it was hard not to feel responsible for his injury.

He shot her another annoyed look and walked away. They climbed another set of stairs, and came back out into the open air. A large metal piece of a radio tower was wedged between the hospital building and the hotel next door. There was no question that this was the way Reilly had described, but it looked so precarious that the sinking feeling Callie had felt was now threatening to overtake her. She ripped off her surgical mask and tried to control her breathing.

“I’m sorry.” She said. She stared ahead at the precarious looking route ahead, not able to make eye contact with either of her companions. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have made either of you come here. Sydney warned me, but I led you into a death trap anyway.”

“We can’t worry about that right now. It’s fine.” Butch said.

Callie shook her head. “It’s not fine. You’re already hurt, and I led-”

“Hey, cut it out!” Butch said, punching Callie in the arm. “You can cry about it later, Nosebleed, we still got a lot of work to do.”

She looked at him, shocked. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or concerned, but it was enough to shake her out of her spiraling train of thought. “Right. Yeah. Let’s... get this done.”

She walked up to the edge of the building, where Sarah stood. “It looks secure,” Sarah said, taking a hesitant step forward, “but let’s go one at a time just in case.”

Callie took up the rear, watching the other two get across. She didn’t feel any better, but she was determined to hold herself together until they finished their mission. It was a long way down, but she slowly walked across and over to the hotel where Butch and Sarah waited. 

“You’ve bled through the bandage, I should change it before we get going again.” Callie said to Butch once she’d reached the other side.

“Fine.” He said. 

Callie looked at Sarah, who nodded. “It’s been a long day, and this is as good a place as any to rest.” 

There was a dusty table nearby, and Callie put her pack down and took out her supplies. As she did, Butch took out a water and a pack of Dandy Boy Apples and tossed it to Sarah, before pulling more water and snacks out for himself and Callie.

Sarah sat down on the ground on the other side of the open room to eat as Callie changed the dressing. Butch tolerated it well. She could tell he was still in pain, but he didn’t complain. “Look, what I said-”

“Was fair. It’s fine.” Callie said.

“Not really. I’ve been trying, Cal. You’re grieving and stuff, and I’ve been trying to be nice, but it hurts, and this whole thing is kinda...”

“Terrifying?” Callie asked in a low voice.

He nodded. “Yeah. Exactly. But remember, I decided to come, same as her.” He said, nodding his head towards Sarah. 

“Thanks.” She said. She finished the dressing change, and drank her bottle of water in three gulps. She didn’t feel particularly hungry, but she ate some of the mutfruit Butch gave her anyway. After a few minutes, she put her things away and cracked her neck. She was feeling a little better, and reminded herself that she didn’t handle dehydration well and to keep a closer eye on herself.

“Ready for round two?” Sarah asked, standing up.

“You call that one round?” Butch asked with a grin.

To Callie’s surprise, Sarah smiled just as brightly back at him. “We just took out an entire building full of muties and came out of it with a large amount of supplies and only minor injuries. I call that a pretty successful day so far. Glade was right, I did need a change of pace.”

Callie smiled. She felt less guilty now, and more ready to face whatever was on the other side of the crumbling hotel wall. “Lead on, Sentinel.”


	27. Such A Lovely Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Sarah Vaughan  
> There’s A Small Hotel - Hal Kemp, Maxine Grey

There were far fewer super mutants in the hotel than the hospital, and while the building was in far worse shape, it smelled more dusty than disgusting. They were only in the building for five minutes before Sarah put her foot through the floor.

“Damnit!” She yelled, as she suddenly found herself with her foot stuck just above the knee. It took both Butch and Callie to haul her up.

“You are heavy.” Callie said through gritted teeth as she pulled, earning her a glare.

“Yes, I know. The advantage of power armor is that my leg is fine whereas yours would be cut to ribbons.” Sarah said, brushing away the sharp pieces of wood from her armor with the back of her hand.

“Well, in that case, it’s a good thing you were in the lead.” Callie said with a smile. 

Sarah led them through in the same slow, methodical way that they’d swept through the hospital. They’d developed a good rhythm between the three of them, and while it was grueling, exhausting work, they were making headway. Callie wasn’t surprised at how easy it would be for a whole team to be trapped out here, and was very thankful she’d stocked up on ammo before they’d left. They’d found some on their way, some bullets and a few automatic shotgun rounds, but nothing in the way of microfusion cells. She shook her head at the thought.

“Something wrong?” Sarah asked as they walked down yet another hallway. 

“No, I was just thinking about how dead we would be if you weren’t here.”

“Oh.” Sarah said, shrugging her armored shoulders, “That was just good timing.”

“Either way, thanks.”

Sarah nodded her head. “Thank me once we get out of here.” 

Callie smiled. Sarah had more personality than Callie had originally thought, but she was still very businesslike in everything she did. If this was a change of pace, as her colleague had said, what must her life be like?

“Hey, Cal?” Butch asked, looking out from a nearby room he’d wandered into.

“Yeah?”

“What was it Sydney’s dad called her? It was Moonbeam, right?” He asked, holding up a holotape.

“Uh, I have no idea.” Callie replied. Sydney had told Callie very little about her father except that he’d abandoned her when she was young.

“Right, you weren’t there when we were talking about that. Come listen to this.”

They stepped into the room as Butch played the tape. They all stopped and listened to the last words of a dying man, apologizing and telling his daughter that he loved her. There was a long silence after it finished, then Butch slipped the tape into his bag. “I’ll show it to her.” He said in a low voice, “She oughta hear that he cared about her, you know? We ain’t all that lucky.”

“No, no we’re not.” Sarah responded quietly.

Callie looked between Butch and Sarah, but said nothing. She had several of her father’s tapes in her bag. Even though they’d been downloaded onto her Pipboy, she’d kept the hard copies as well. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to throw them away.

The continued along till they reached an elevator. Sarah tried the button, but nothing happened. “Damn.” She said.

Callie came over to get a closer look. “If it’s just the control panel, I might be able to do something about it. Do you think we could get the doors open?”

“Sure thing.” Sarah said, grabbing the two sliding doors with each hand and pulling hard. Her armor groaned at the effort, but after half a minute the doors were open.

“Heh, nice work, Grognak.” Butch said with a snicker.

“Who?” Sarah asked.

Butch looked at Sarah sharply as Callie went to work on the control panel. “What? You never read comics when you were little? I thought everybody did. Especially out here where there were more of ‘em.”

“Maybe some people. We moved around a lot before settling here, and once we did we didn’t have a lot of spare time. I read training manuals and Brotherhood approved books. I don’t think we’ve ever had a comic book inside the citadel.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Butch said, as if she’d just described some great tragedy.

“It’s not a big deal. Who’s Grognak?” She asked. Behind her, Callie grinned at Butch.

“Oh, just like a really strong uh... person.”

“Mmhmm.” Sarah said tersely, taking a few steps away.

Callie laughed under her breath as she finished taping some wires back together. The elevator hummed to life. The doors closed, and after a moment, they opened again, the elevator box ready for them. “There. Piece of cake.”

Butch looked inside. “You think it’s safe?”

Callie nodded. “About as safe as it’s gonna get, yeah.”

“That’s not comforting at all. How many elevators have you ever fixed.” Butch asked, not unkindly, but wary.

Callie turned to Sarah and shot her a mischievous smile. “What do you think? You are the heaviest.”

Sarah gave Callie a hard look. “I think we should use it if we have to, but there are some nearby stairs that might be a little more reliable.”

“Fair enough,” Callie said, adjusting her pack and picking up her rifle, “but hey, if you fall through the floor again that’s on you.”

Sarah smiled a little, but didn’t respond.

Butch had wandered ahead again, ducking into the last room by the stairwell. As the two women followed they heard a loud “hah!”

“What?” Callie asked, entering the room with her rifle raised.

“Clothes!” Butch said. He stood in front of a full wardrobe, with his jacket thrown onto the dusty bed beside him. Sarah followed Callie, and arrived just as Butch pulled his own shirt over his head.

“Oh.” Sarah said, quickly looking away.

Callie frowned. “Yeah, jeez man. Give us some warning before you do that so we know to cover you.”

“So cover me. I’m changing shirts.” He said as he tied the top half of his vault suit around his waist. He descarded his torn and bloodied white tee-shirt and pulled on a black tank top. He found a slightly large, navy blue long-sleeved shirt that he also put on, wincing slightly at the pain of his chest wound. After he put his jacket back on, he loaded most of the contents of the wardrobe into his pack, which filled it completely.

Callie looked through a closet nearby, but there was nothing worth saving. She glanced over at Sarah, who had become very interested in her laser rifle, before turning back to Butch. “Ready?”

“Hell yeah.” He said, holding his shotgun over his shoulder and smiling. Finding the clothing had evidently put him in a good mood.

They left the room and walked up the stairs, beginning their process all over again on the next floor. They fought hard and carefully, through the dilapidated maze of rooms, till they reached a restaurant on the top floor.

After Sarah shot the last of the super mutants, Callie took her first real look at the place. “Wow. Can you imagine what this must have looked like back in the day?”

“Or how easy the lives were of the people who came here?” Sarah replied, sounding a little bitter.

“Yeah. Then again, some of them are still here, so they might not have all had the best time.” Callie said, nodding her head towards one of the many skeletons.

Sarah nodded. “Good point.”

They looked through the large, precarious-looking rooms. It looked like half the place was about to cave in, so they had to move even more slowly and carefully than they had been before, but they still progressed. 

Behind Sarah’s back, Callie held up a Grognak comic she’d found and grinned. Butch’s eyes went wide and he waved her away. Callie muffled a laugh and put the comic in her pack. Butch approached her. “You want her to kill me?” He whispered, only half joking. 

“I don’t know, you did hit me today.” She said with another smile.

Butch scoffed. “Lightly, on the arm. And you were being weird.”

Sarah looked back. “I think I found the way up.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Callie said, shooting another teasing look at Butch before jogging after Sarah. Butch sighed his annoyance, and followed.

When they arrived on the rooftop, it was dark. There were sounds of a fight ahead. Before today, Callie would have barreled right into it, guns blazing, but she’d learned a lot from watching Sarah, who immediately found cover by a wall. Sarah had kept them all alive by thinking two steps ahead, watching for traps, and keeping a level head. Even Butch was getting better at conserving ammo and watching his own back.

They didn’t have to do much, as mutant body parts flew by. Callie let out a sigh. At least part of the team was still up there. When it was calm again. Callie turned to her companions. “All right, let’s go say Hello.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're social media inclined, I've started a Tumblr for this at deedeegee33.tumblr.com I'm behind in updating, as Tumblr is currently trigger happy with folks who post too many links, but in the next few weeks I'll have links to here, along with Youtube videos of my recommended songs, and the occasional dilapidated building and other things that fit the aesthetic. As always, thanks for reading, and a huge shoutout to sassafraz for the lovely comments.


	28. Late Check Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Midnight, The Stars, and You - Al Bowlly  
> Still Of The Night - Santo and Johnny

A spark flashed in front of Callie, and she frowned. The service elevator on the roof was in worse shape than the one she’d fixed downstairs, but the mechanism was the same. She was crouched in front of the control panel, attempting to jump start the machine with a fission battery, as Butch and Sarah rested on a bench right behind her.

“They all look so tough. How’d they get trapped up here?” She heard Butch whisper.

“It just happens.” Sarah replied. “My father always says that you can be the best soldier in the world and never be prepared for everything that’s out here. One wrong step and suddenly you’re down a man, or you’re backed into a corner, or you get a minor chest wound. You can never be completely prepared. All you can do is trust in the preparations you have made and hope you’re luckier than most.”

Butch took a deep breath. “That... sucks.”

Sarah nodded. “Maybe. But it does help make you grateful for the little things. You got hit today, but if the centaur had aimed higher, it could have blinded you. I put my foot through the floor, but I didn’t plummet to my death.”

“Right. The little things.” He said with a snicker, then considered a moment. “I guess that’s fair.” 

Sarah shrugged. “It’s just survival.”

Callie dusted herself off and got to her feet. “You just needed the one, right?” She asked their acting leader, a man named Butcher. She held up the two extra fission batteries she just happened to have stored in her pack.

“Just the one, yes. Thank you.” He said. He seemed less shaken than when they’d first met. Once they’d assured the team that Reilly was safe, and handed out their ammo, their spirits were rallied. There were only three of them, Butcher, Donovan, and Brick, but Callie felt much better about their chances now that their numbers had doubled.

“Okay, how’re we all doing?” Callie said, hoisting her pack over her shoulder and taking out her rifle.

“Five by five.” Brick, the heavy weapons expert, yelled.

Callie at her looked questioningly. Sarah leaned over to Callie, “That means she’s ready.” 

“Okay, then. Hop in.” Callie said. The elevator doors slid open, and all six of them piled inside. It was a tight fit, what with their assorted equipment and Brick’s larger than average mini-gun.

“This is a lot easier than the way up.” Donovan said. The others mumbled their half-hearted laughter. While they all seemed understandably worn out, they were still joking with each other. Callie smiled. Regardless of what was ahead, she couldn’t regret coming here. Stuck on top of that building with no ammo would have been a horrible way to die. 

When the doors opened again, it didn’t take long to deal with the remaining super mutants that filled the lobby. Tired as they were, the rangers were a good team, and fought together admirably. Once the lobby was quiet, they all turned to Sarah, who didn’t hesitate to step in and start giving orders.

“We’re sorely outnumbered outside. I don’t know that we’ll be able to get past them and into the metro without being detected, but for now that’s our goal. Brick, you’re at the front with me. Callie, Butch and Butcher stay in the middle, and Donovan take the rear. We’re almost home, but we’ll need to stay extra sharp to get there. Hear me?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Butcher said. The rest echoed. Any camaraderie Callie had seen in Sarah was gone, and she was the cold Brotherhood soldier once again.

They left the hotel with Sarah in the lead. Callie wondered if she minded being in that position. As Sarah had predicted, the streets were too full for six people to get through unnoticed, but the rangers really were very good. It was a hard fight, but they escaped into the tunnels with only some minor scrapes and bruises. 

They took breaks often on the way, but the tunnels were clear from when they’d swept through that morning. It was just about midnight when they arrived back at the entrance to Underworld. To Callie, it felt as though it had been a week since they were last there.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Butcher said, looking at each one of them in turn, “now, let’s go see Reilly.”

“I’ll have to pass.” Sarah replied. “The Brotherhood aren’t welcome in Underworld.” 

Callie had noticed how Sarah had kept her distance from the entrance, and from the whispers she’d heard from inside, it sounded like it was for the best. Callie stepped towards Sarah. “I won’t be able to make it back to the citadel on no sleep.”

“There’s an outpost at the Washington Monument. I figured we’d crash there.”

Callie looked towards Underworld, the sinking feeling in her stomach returning. “These guys were going to outfit us with armor. I’d like to get them safely back to their outpost tomorrow.”

Sarah pressed her lips together. “We had a deal, Callie.” She said firmly.

Butch stepped towards them. “Hey, I’ll go. I’ll make sure they get home safe, and get the armor or whatever they said they’d give us, and meet you back at Rivet City.”

Callie turned to him. “No. You could get hurt. You’re already hurt.”

Butch rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter, man. Even if I did, these guys are tough. I’m sure they can look after me as good as you can, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Callie frowned and took a few steps away from the group. Butch followed. “Look, I just...” she started, but trailed off. She didn’t know how to explain herself, but she didn’t like this idea at all.

“This ain’t even about me, is it?” He said gently. She looked at him hard, but had no answer. He wasn’t wrong.

“We’ll take good care of him, don’t you worry none.” Brick called from behind them.

“Don’t be weird, Cal. Just go get this over with. You’ll feel better. Then come find me in the city in a day or two and we’ll get drunk or something.”

She slowly unclenched her jaw. “Okay. Fine. You gotta tell me how Reilly reacts. And don’t forget to give that tape to Sydney. And change the dressing twice a day. You should know how by now. And-”

“Callie. It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” He said. “We’ll be fine.”

He looked at her, looking concerned for her now. She managed a laugh. “Shit. It wasn’t that long ago that I never would’ve believed I’d be sad to say goodbye to you.”

He responded by hitting her in the arm. “Yeah, same to you.”

She hit him back, and they returned to the group. “Say Hi to Reilly for me.” She told Butcher, who nodded.

“We won’t forget this. If you need anything, our base is at Seward Square. We’ll show Butch the way, but I can speak for all of us when I say you’re welcome anytime.”

Callie shook their hands, and gave one last nod to Butch. “Hey,” Donavan said as they turned around, “How’d I end up with three Butches?”

Brick let out a loud laugh and shoved him, before they all disappeared inside. Callie turned to Sarah. “Ready?” She asked, pasting a smile on her face.

“This way.” Sarah said. 

They walked in awkward silence to the monument, where they were greeted with far more respect than Callie’s last visit. “At ease.” Sarah told the two guards, who scrambled to salute her as soon as they came into view. “We’re dead on our feet. Can you spare the beds?”

“Of course, Commander. The night shift just started, and we sent the rookie off with Dusk.”

Sarah led Callie inside to a side room with several cots. For the first time, Sarah looked tired. Or maybe she finally let herself look tired. The tension was making Callie uncomfortable, so she smiled at Sarah. “You don’t snore, do you?”

She chuckled as she pulled off the top part of her armor. “If I do, nobody’s ever dared to complain.”

“I can believe that.” Callie replied, sitting down on the creaky old bed. Lumpy and uncomfortable as it was, it took her less than five minutes to fall asleep. After what only seemed to be another five minutes, she was shaken awake by Sarah.

“What? What happened?” Callie said, sitting up quickly.

“It’s morning. And it looked like you were having a nightmare.” Sarah said, before turning her back and walking to the other side of the room.

“Oh.” Callie said. She blinked at their surroundings and checked the time. Seven o’clock. Sarah was back in her armor already, and was cleaning her rifle at a nearby table. With a yawn and a stretch, Callie fumbled to get her jacket back on. Her muscles ached terribly from the day before, and her head hurt from a less than restful sleep. Sarah had been right. Her dream was already fading, but she knew it had been about Amata. She shook her head as if that would help shake away the memories, and stood up. She would give most of her money for a shower, but she doubted Sarah would want to make another stop. She checked her pack. Her snack supply had depleted, and she was down to two packages of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. She opened one before bringing the second package over to Sarah.

“Thanks.” Sarah said, opening her own even faster than Callie had opened hers. “I actually love these.”

“And somehow, they’re not even that smushed.” Callie said.

They left the outpost, and as Callie glanced behind her, she watched as the guards visibly relaxed. Sarah hadn’t said much, and it wasn’t until they were back in the metro tunnels that Callie tried to strike up a conversation. “It’s gotta be strange,” she said, “to be in charge wherever you go.” 

Sarah nodded. “I’ve worked hard to get to that point, but yes, it can be strange. I’m a representative of the Brotherhood no matter where I am, and I try to live up to that.”

“Sounds like that would get exhausting pretty fast.”

Instead of answering, Sarah raised her rifle and shot a feral ghoul in the distance that Callie hadn’t even noticed. They continued along at a far slower pace than the day before. Although Sarah didn’t show it, she must have been at least a little tired, and Callie was happy to take her time.

After a while, Sarah looked over at Callie for a long moment. “Can I ask about your reluctance to go to the Citadel?”

“I...” Callie said, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

“We want to help you. Scribe Rothchild can be a bit enthusiastic about his work, but from what I’ve heard, he’s got some good leads. We’ve been working to make D.C. better for a long time now, and while I know this was your father’s project, we do want to see this through to the end.”

Callie didn’t answer right away, and Sarah didn’t press. The truth was, is that she wasn’t sure, herself. The thought of going back there made her stomach tighten up, but it was more than just the idea of having to talk out-loud about her father. It was deeper than that. When Sarah stopped to disarm a mine, Callie spoke again.

“I can’t fail.” She said simply.

“What?” Sarah asked, standing up with the mine in her hands.

“Project Purity was the life’s work of both my parents. It’s... all I have left of either of them now. If I can’t get this right, if I fail...”

Sarah nodded. “I see. And I get it. If there’s one thing I can understand, it’s family legacy.”

She didn’t elaborate, and it was Callie’s turn not to press, but she could only imagine the type of pressure the first daughter of the Brotherhood must face. They shared a smile, and it helped Callie relax a little. It was still hard to put into words how she felt about what had happened at the purifier, and it was almost as hard to talk about the vault, but Sarah Lyons was about the most powerful ally she could get, and she was grateful for her understanding.

They spent the rest of the trip in a far more comfortable silence. With the Citadel finally looming in front of them, Callie felt the familiar tightness in her stomach grow. The last time she was here was the day he died, and it all came rushing back at once. Run, he’d said. And boy did she feel like running now.

“Ready?” Sarah said.

“Nah. But let’s go anyway.”

Sarah approached the guard. After a moment, the heavy door creaked open, and they stepped inside.


	29. Love At First Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> You Brought A New Kind of Love to Me - Maurice Chevalier  
> I’ve Got A Crush On You - Ella Fitzgerald

They were all staring at her. Callie could feel the eyes of the Brotherhood soldiers follow her across the courtyard to where Scribe Rothchild had come out to meet them. Callie was still feeling tense about the whole situation, but she tried to remind herself that they were all on the same side, and were all trying to help.

“Ah, you’ve brought her back to us. Good work, Commander.” He said as a greeting.

Sarah gave a tight smile to Rothchild and nodded to Callie. “I’ll let him take it from here. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Hey, thank you... Commander.” Callie said, as Sarah started to walk away. She looked back and gave Callie the same tight, preoccupied smile, before turning on her heel and walking swiftly towards one of the doors.

“If you’ll follow me, please.” Rothchild said, starting towards another door. He started to talk about vaults and their different set-ups before they came to a terminal that had more information.

“If you’ll notice, we now have information on which of the local vaults were equipped with a G.E.C.K. It looks like our only option is to venture to Vault 87.”

Callie uploaded the information to her Pipboy to look through later, and followed Rothchild again towards their lab. He was far less concerned with sharing Brotherhood secrets than any of the other soldiers that Callie had met, which was refreshing. He continued to talk about their current efforts against the super mutants and the Enclave. There was little that was relevant to Callie, but she was happy to pay attention to the robed man in front of her than on the curious glances of those around her. She’d barely looked around until they were well inside the lab.

“You’ve said a lot about this Vault 87, and how it’s inaccessible, but Sarah- er, Commander Lyons said that you had plans for me specifically. If it’s inaccessible, then how are we- ROBOT!”

Callie stopped dead in her tracks, looking up agape at the towering figure in front of her.

“Ah yes. This is Liberty Prime. Isn’t it magnificent?” Rothchild said fondly.

“He’s beautiful.” Callie said, her train of thought forgotten as she stepped towards the 40 foot tall machine. “Just beautiful. Does he work? I feel like I would have noticed him out in the wastes.”

Rothchild chuckled. “Not yet, I’m afraid. But with Dr. Li’s help, we’re getting close. She’s been an invaluable asset.”

Hearing Dr. Li’s name shook Callie out of her reverie. She looked back at Rothchild. “Sorry, we’re talking about something else, but I’m going to need to know everything about this guy.”

“And I would be happy to provide you with that information after I show you were you’ll be going.” He said. He walked over to a large map on the wall, and after Callie forced herself to stop staring at the giant machine, she followed.

“Wait, hang on. I’m the one going into this vault? You don’t want to send your own people. A team with large guns and supplies?”

Rothchild’s half-baked excuses about not being able to spare the people left Callie feeling like a canary in a coal mine. She doubted she could convince Sarah to come with her this time, and the more she pressed Rothchild, the more she was brushed off. She stayed calm, but inside she was struggling to stay civil. All this time, they could have been trying to get into this vault, and they’d just left it for her. After Rothchild’s long explanation about their lack of resources, she thanked him tersely and he took her to see Elder Lyons. Callie had told him she could find her own way, but the way he insisted on leading her made her feel like she wasn’t to be trusted. 

Elder Lyons was a tired, grizzled-looking man, who Callie suspected was younger than he looked. “Hello, Miss. Elliot. Let me say again just how sorry I am about your father.” His voice was firm, but not unkind.

“Thank you. And Callie’s just fine, Sir.” She said. “I hear you’re the one to ask about power armor training.”

“Yes. And under the circumstances, I approve. Speak to Paladin Gunny out in the yard, and he’ll get you sorted.”

“Thank you.”

While Callie was more interested in how the armor worked than how to wear it, she followed Paladin Gunny’s training carefully. The Paladin looked exasperated with the situation, but was willing to teach. He told Callie more than once that she was asking all the right questions. The metallic suit was bulky and uncomfortable, and she gained a lot more respect for the soldiers who walked around so smoothly while wearing full armor.

They paused for lunch, which was uneventful. They let her eat in the mess hall, but most of the soldiers gave short, curt answers when she tried to strike up a conversation. She asked Paladin Gunny a few questions, but he was busy with reports and also gave her the briefest of answers. It was annoying, but Callie could brush it off. They were still helping her, even if it wasn’t nearly as much help as she was expecting. 

The knots in her stomach had loosened from when she’d arrived, and she was able to enjoy the plain but nourishing food they’d provided. Butch had been right, it felt good to get this over with. She’d spoken about her father several times, and while it still hurt, it wasn’t as hard as she’d thought. Once she’d finished eating, the training resumed. Gunny had her doing a condensed version of his regular training, but had informed her that it would still take a day and a half. 

At the end of the day, Callie was shown to an empty bunk by one of the initiates. She’d been given permission to walk around ‘within reason’, and while she was curious, she didn’t want to push her luck. She decided to go to the lab to have another look at Liberty Prime, and nearly ran into Dr. Li.

“Oh good, you’re okay.” She said in her usual businesslike manner.

Callie nodded. She had a hard time looking her in the eyes, but had to say her peace, “Dr. Li, I need to thank you... for keeping us alive that day. I don’t think we would have made it out of there without you.”

“Oh.” She said softly, as if she were surprised. “You’re welcome. It was a hard day for all of us, especially you. I’m glad you’ve come back to help us.” 

The softness in her voice was unexpected, and it touched Callie. She nodded at Dr. Li, unable to say anything further. Dr. Li seemed to understand, and nodded back. “I should get back to work.” She said to Callie, then stepped in closer. “But be careful in here,” she said, just above a whisper, “they’re doing a lot of good work, but they’re still The Brotherhood. Don’t be too quick to trust them.”

Callie nodded again. “I’ll be careful.” She said sincerely. She would never say she’d been close with Dr. Li, but she valued her opinion and didn’t take her words lightly. Dr. Li left without another word, and Callie was left to stare in awe at the giant robot alone. 

The next morning, they allowed her the luxury of a shower. The citadel was outfitted with a giant, public shower room with very little privacy, but Callie did not care in the slightest. It was too nice to feel clean for the first time in days to be concerned that some uptight Brotherhood soldier might see her bare ass. Back in the yard, she finished up her training with Gunny, sold some junk and her extra fission batteries to a rude woman in the basement, and had an oddly poetic conversation with a malfunctioning medical bot. Without asking permission, she repaired it. She remembered the horror show of Vault 101’s malfunctioning Mr. Handy too clearly not to do anything about this one. 

She didn’t see Sarah at all since she’d gotten to the citadel, but as she hadn’t seen any of the Lyons Pride, she had to assume they were already gone. With nothing more to do, she left the citadel in the late afternoon and headed back to Rivet City. She wondered as she walked if Butch had made it back yet. She promised herself that if he wasn’t back yet, to give it a day or two before she went to look for him, and to try to relax for the rest of the day. She’d told Rothchild that although she would go searching for a way into Vault 87, it might take a while. She gave herself a couple of days to recharge and head out, but made it her goal to be outside Vault 87 within the week. She took a deep breath as she climbed up the ramp towards the city. Callie felt lighter than she had in days. Regardless of how difficult the path may be, she had a plan and she had a goal, which put a genuine smile on her face.


	30. While You're Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> Nat King Cole - Quizas, Quizas, Quizas   
> The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing - Rosemary Clooney
> 
> Callie's Playlist is now on Spotify

The far end of the Rivet City marketplace was decorated. Callie looked at the streamers and strings of lights as she walked down the stairs towards the shops. There were a dozen people gathered down by the restaurant, and there was music playing. The stores were mostly closed already, which made Callie check her watch. When she looked back up she caught Seagrave’s eye.

“Usually the marketplace stays open for at least another hour, what’s going on?”

Seagrave locked his cash register, obviously getting ready to leave as well. “Gary’s throwing an engagement party for his daughter. It’s just getting started now, so we’re all closing up early. Did you need anything?” He asked, hesitating by the front of his store. 

“Nah, go ahead and close. I was just curious.”

Seagrave gave her relieved smile. He took off his motorcycle helmet, and jogged past her to where the party was happening. Callie nodded absently, looking towards the restaurant. She’d heard about Angela and Diego, everyone had, but last she’d heard nothing more was happening with that. As she walked slowly towards the restaurant, she noticed that they’d set up a series of long tables. There were people sitting here and there, eating and laughing. Near the jukebox, the usual tables had been pushed to the sides, and there were a few couples dancing. Sitting alone at one of the long tables, was Butch DeLoria. Under his jacket, he wore the same armor as Reilly’s Rangers, and had his new, shiny black boots up on the table in front of him. He seemed as relieved to see her as she was to see him, and waved her over.

“All of this is ‘cause of me.” He said, holding his arms out wide. “Not bad for a guy without any marriage counselor training, huh?”

Callie felt her blood turn cold. A conversation she’d once had with Cindy at A Quick Fix about pheromones flashed through her mind. “What the hell did you do?” She asked.

“Why you gotta say it like that?” Butch started, but Callie cut him off by pointing a finger at him.

“Just tell me what you did, Butch!” She hissed.

“Yeah, sure.” Butch said, putting his feet back on the floor and pointing across from him. “But sit down, will you? People are looking.”

Callie kept eye contact with Butch as she sat down. He looked as annoyed as she was suspicious. Once she was seated, he began. “Okay, so as soon as I got back yesterday I hear that the priest was looking to get a haircut. So I go do that, and the whole time he won’t shut up about this guy Diego, and how he’s worried he’s gonna lose him to Angela, who’s the gal who works at the restaurant here-”

“I know who they are.” Callie said impatiently.

Butch ignored her interruption. “So I say ‘What’s the big deal, isn’t him being happy better than him being miserable for the rest of his life?’ and he gets mad and makes this big speech about how Angela is a temptation or a test or some dumb shit.” Callie listened, clasping her hands tightly together in front of her, while Butch leaned back in his chair. “So once I’m done with him, just to see what’ll happen, I tell him that I heard that they were already gettin’ together, and man, if I thought he was mad before.” He paused to laugh. “Then he goes over to the next room where Diego is, and does whatever the church version is of firing a guy. I didn’t know that would happen, so I tell the priest that I made it all up, and he’s just about to start yelling at me, when Diego starts yelling at him.” Butch stopped to take a drink out of the bottle of beer in front of him. “So Diego asks the priest why he trusts the barber he met an hour ago over him, and starts talking about how he can’t have any faith in the priest if the priest’s got no faith in him. And I tell him that that’s a real good point, but they both tell me to shut up, so I got outta there. And THEN, half an hour later, Diego comes to find me, shakes my hand, and now uh... I’m the best man.”

Callie sat, dumbfounded. It took her half a minute to process what he’d said, before she burst out laughing. “I’m sorry.” She said, after collecting herself. “I shouldn’t have assumed the worst.”

Butch nodded. “No, you shouldn’t have. What did you think I did?”

“I don’t know, something bad.” Callie lied. “How’s your wound?” 

Butch knocked lightly on the front of his chest plate. “Almost back to normal. And now it won’t happen again. The Rangers had a huge wall of stuff. I didn’t bring any back for you, but they said to go out there anytime to get your own. And, hey, check this out.” He said, placing a heavily modified pistol on the table.

“Is that... Sydney’s?” Callie asked, surprised.

“Yeah. It was her dad on that tape. She almost cried. It’s real good that we went out there.”

Callie took a deep breath. “Glad you think so.” 

She told him about the citadel, about her awkward time with the Brotherhood, and her plan to explore yet another vault. Butch didn’t react with nearly enough awe as she tried to describe Liberty Prime, but seemed very interested in everything she said about the vault.

“So, when do we leave?” He asked.

“Oh.” She said, surprised at his offer. She’d assumed this would have been the end of their little adventure together. “You know you don’t have to come.”

“So what, you don’t want me there?” He asked, looking mildly offended.

“No, it’s just, it’ll be dangerous.”

He scoffed and took another drink. “You say that like what we just did was safe.”

“No, but...Hell, if you want to come, I’m happy to have you there. But fair warning, I don’t know any more badass women to take along with us.”

“Damn, I was hoping for a redhead this time.” He said with a grin. “Again, when do we leave?”

Callie frowned. “I told them that I’d need some time to rest, but I want to get this done sooner than later, so I was thinking a couple of days from now? I don’t know what to expect out there, but I know there’s got to be more of a reason than they gave me as to why the Brotherhood hasn’t gone out there themselves.”

Butch nodded. Callie watched as Gary walked across the room to the jukebox, and after a moment, a sweet, slow song began to play. He took Angela’s hand and began to dance with his daughter, looking very proud.

“I think you did a good thing today.” She said. Watching Gary and Angela, it was hard not to feel envious. She would never dance with her father again. If she ever decided to get married, her father wouldn’t be there. The permanence of his death was something she didn’t think she’d ever get used to.

“Come on.” Butch said, breaking her train of thought. “There’s a whole table full of food over there and I’m starving.”

She followed Butch over to the table of food, wondering why he hadn’t been over there already. She asked him and he muttered something about saving the table. Gary must have spent the last two hours making the spread, which included mini versions of his brahmin burgers. Callie went for a couple of those, before spotting something rare. On a raised platform, sat a large bowl of fresh apples. Callie knew that they grew fruit down in the science lab, but they’d always been off limits. Callie picked up the roundest looking one and put it in her jacket pocket. She set her plate of food down at the table, but before she could sit down, she felt a tap on her shoulder. At her shoulder, stood a very concerned looking Brian Wilks.

“Hey Kid, did you grow again?”

“Hi, Callie.” He said quickly. “Do you know how to dance, and if you do can you teach me right now?” He asked, as though it were the most important thing in the world.

Callie chuckled. “Sure. One sec, though.” She shoved one of the small burgers into her mouth, then gave Wilks a thumbs up. He didn’t see it, however, as he was looking between her and Butch.

“Unless I’m like, interrupting something.” He said.

“Hah. In her dreams.” Butch said, sitting back down at the table. 

“More like nightmares.” Callie said, her mouth full of food. Butch looked disgusted, then laughed at her. She motioned for Wilks to follow her to an empty space by the jukebox, and positioned his hands properly as she finished chewing. “Okay. Simple foxtrot. Here we go.” She said, holding up their hands together. “You’re going to bend your knees a little, and take two steps towards me. Start with your left.”

She guided him through some basic steps, and was happy at how quickly he picked it up. Soon, after only one instance of her foot being stepped on, they were dancing. Wilks expression turned from concentration to joy.

“Was there a reason you wanted to learn this so badly?” She asked.

“Yeah. Vera’s always saying how she likes to dance, but nobody she likes ever asks her. I know it’s not the same thing cause we’re family, but I though it’d still be nice if I could ask her. She’s coming down here pretty soon.”

“That’s sweet.” Callie said, touched by his thoughtfulness. “But after this song I think I need a break. It’s been a long week.”

“Oh, yeah. No problem. I’ll just see if anyone else wants to dance.”

Callie smiled as Wilks turned to look around the room. He was not the least bit shy, which she hoped was a power he would use for good. She was about to head back to the table, but up above on the balcony, she saw movement. Chief Harkness stood leaning against the rail, surveying the scene below. Hoping Butch wouldn’t eat her food, she decided to go talk to the chief. As she climbed the stairs, she shoved her hands into her pockets, only then remembering her apple. She tossed it up in the air and caught it before she came to stand beside him at the rail.

“How are you, Callie?” He asked, still looking over the crowd.

“Oh, the usual. Violence with a side of alcohol poisoning. You?”

“The city is safe, and everyone’s in a good mood today, so I’m not too bad.”

Callie took a clean knife out of her jacket pocket and cut into her apple, leaning on the rail. “Want a piece?” She asked, holding out the first slice.

He studied the apple for a moment. “Are you sure you want to waste that on... someone like me?”

Callie popped the apple slice into her mouth and began to cut another. “Well, the way my body works is that when I start to chew this, the receptors on my tongue send a signal to my brain that says ‘Mmm, good apple’. I can’t imagine it’s that much different than yours.”

She offered him the second slice. Again, he hesitated, but this time he took it from her and ate it. “Mmm, good apple.” He said.

She smiled and looked over the large room. “Are you okay, Chief? Really?” She didn’t want to bother him, but he was so stoic and hard to read that she knew he’d never tell her if she didn’t ask.

He sighed. “I think so. There are times when I feel like it would be a lot safer for everyone if I left, but I’ll stick around for now.”

She nodded. “I know I can speak for everyone here when I say that we’d be sad to see you go.”

“That means a lot coming from you.” He said softly, looking at her in a way that was making her feel flustered. Callie cleared her throat and looked back out towards the crowd below.

“So, are you going to stay up here all night, or do you want to come down and have a drink.” 

“A drink would be nice.” He said, stepping away from the rail, and allowing her to go first back down the stairs. As they descended, Callie was happy to see Wilks dancing with Vera. She was smiling widely, as he concentrated on the steps. She could almost see him counting under his breath. Callie couldn’t help but feel proud. There was a line for drinks, and as they took their spot at the back Butch shuffled up to them, looking unbearably smug.

“You should give out more dance lessons. Everybody in here needs them.” Butch said with a sneer. 

“Hey, be nice.” Callie said, pointing a finger at him. “We had years of lessons. Most people don’t get any of that.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. But you can’t argue with me. Look at these idiots flailing around.”

The expression on his face was making Callie uneasy. She’d seen it too many times before. Beside her, the chief straightened up.

“It’s not a competition. People are here to have a good time, not be judged on something so insignificant.” He said firmly. “Don’t mock them.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Callie said quickly, trying to wave off Butch’s stupid comment. Before she could say anything further, Butch took a step so he was shoulder to shoulder with her opposite Harkness. 

“Yeah, what she said. Calm your circuits.” He said with what seemed to be a knowing smirk.

Harkness froze. Callie looked questioningly at her friend, but the chief acted first. He grabbed Butch by the front of his armor and hauled him towards the nearest stairwell. Callie knew she couldn’t stop him, but she followed quickly behind as people around them stared as Butch was dragged along. 

Once they were alone in the stairwell Harkness shoved Butch hard forward against the wall, holding him there with one strong arm. Butch hissed out a breath and rolled his eyes. Instead of speaking to him, the chief turned to Callie. “You told him. You told HIM?” He said, his voice wavering with anger.

“No. I didn’t say anything. He doesn’t know anything!” Callie said quickly.

Butch, now looking just as angry, pushed back against the chief, who didn’t budge. “I thought I told you to calm down. Jesus!”

Harkness snapped his head towards Butch. “Why did you call me that? Tell me right now.” He said, a coldness to his voice that Callie hadn’t heard before. Butch must have picked up on it too, as his eyes were growing wide.

“That guy. The scientist guy in the busted part of the ship.” Butch said, sounding nervous now. “He’s the one who told me you’re a-”

Before he could say another word, Harkness pulled him forward and shoved him against the wall again. Butch yelped in pain, and clutched at his wounded chest. Callie stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t tell him. I had no idea he knew. If I had-”

It was Butch’s turn to interrupt. “Let me go, man. How was I supposed to know you can’t take a joke.”

“A joke?” Harkness asked, taking a step closer to Butch and narrowing his eyes. “My life is on the line and that’s a joke to you?”

“What? Shit, I didn’t know. And I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t even tell her. I just got bored and talked to the guy, but he never said anything about life or death or whatever.” Butch said, backtracking now that he realized he would not win this fight.

The chief didn’t look any less angry, but he did let go. Grimacing, Butch ripped off the chest plate of his armor. There was a small blood stain where his nearly healed wound had opened. When Harkness saw the blood he stepped back, looking horrified. Callie stepped towards Butch.

“Let me see. You kept this bandaged, right?” She said, pulling at his shirt but he waved her away.

“Yeah, but I didn’t do it as good as you did.” Butch said, looking past Callie at where Harkness had turned their back to them.

“Go back inside. I’ll change the dressing there.” Callie said. Butch didn’t argue. He picked up his armor from where he’d dropped it, and left without even fixing his hair. The chief didn’t speak until the door closed.

“I... don’t know what to say.” He said softly, his back still turned.

“It’s fine. He can be a real idiot sometimes.” Callie said.

“I hurt him.”

“Yes. He was already hurt, but yes.” Callie said simply. “Not to be an asshole, but this is exactly why I told you. I wanted you to be ready in case someone other than me found out on their own.”

He sighed. The muscles in his back let go of some of their tension. “If I stay here. More people are going to end up hurt.”

Callie reached out to touch the back of his shoulder, but changed her mind and clasped her own hands together instead. “While it might be time to go have a talk with Pinkerton about his loose lips, I still think the city is a lot safer with you here.”

He nodded, still staring at the stairs in front of him. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

She nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Butch. I don’t think he understood the gravity of the situation.”

“Can I trust him?” Harkness asked, turning back.  
“I...” Callie started, trailing off before she began. Up until the last half hour she would have said yes. Even with Butch’s insistence that he was trying to be better, he was still far from perfect, and she couldn’t guarantee that he would keep trying. Isn’t that what she was most worried about? That he would suddenly revert back into a small minded bully? Was that what had happened just now?

“I hope so.” She said finally. “And if not, you’ve scared him enough that he’ll keep quiet.”

Her answer didn’t seem completely appease the chief, but he gave her a short nod of the head. She offered him a smile. “Did you still want that drink?” She asked. “I’m buying.”

He looked away. “Thanks, but I should probably make some rounds before I get to sleep.”

“Oh. Are you on duty?” She asked, her eyes passing over his lack of uniform.

“Um, no, but it’ll help me clear my head. Goodnight.”

He walked up the stairwell before she could convince him otherwise. As soon as he was out of sight she let out a long sigh. She knew he was going through a lot, and that he was still coming to terms with the two sets of memories in his head, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She would really like to have more than a five minute conversation with him, but it never seemed in the cards.

She walked back into the marketplace, ignoring the strange looks that came her way. She saw Butch pacing at the far end of the room near the outer door, and followed him there. She pulled her pack off her back and rested it on the workstation near the stairs, motioning for Butch to follow.

“How long have you known?” She asked softly, opening her pack and pulling out her medical supplies. 

“Since yesterday.” Butch said, matching her quiet tone. I saw the old man talking to one of the caravan guys so I went and knocked on that door that’s usually locked. He assumed I was with you cause of the jacket and let me in. Talked my ear off about all kinds of junk, and then told me... you know, what he told me. He thought I knew already, and when I told him I didn’t, he said I shouldn’t tell anybody else.”

Callie nodded. “Hold your shirt down.” She said, advancing towards him with some wet gauze. He complied, and she began to clean the wound.

“I swear, I thought it was like, a sore subject, not this whole life or death shit.” He sounded almost as if he was pleading with her. 

Callie nodded. “Yeah, there’s a lot more to that story. I’ll tell you about it later.” She said. “This should be fine by tomorrow. It was almost healed, but the edge just hit the armor the wrong way. Take this.” She said, handing him a stimpak.

“Thanks.” He said, a bit of a smile back on his face. He injected the stimpak into his arm the way she’d taught him.

“You’re welcome.” Callie said as she zipped up her pack. “See, here you are being nice again. What the hell was that earlier? It was very... old you.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s really crowded over there and... I don’t know.”

Callie got the impression that he wasn’t sure himself. She studied him for a moment. “Hang on, were you just nervous? Is that just what you do when you’re nervous?”

“Hey, shut up, I don’t get nervous.” He snapped, pulling his armor back into place.

“You’re doing it right now. Holy shit, that actually makes sense.” She said, thinking back. “Is it the crowds, or do you just go into asshole mode when you feel like you’re not in control?” Callie asked, genuinely curious.

He stepped back, looking frantically around despite being on the other end of the room from anyone else. “That’s not me. That’s not...” He paused, searching for the right words, and getting visibly frustrated when they didn’t come. “That ain’t all I am.” He said, carefully crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m starting to see that. I really am.” She told him seriously. “But you’ve gotta know that out here, that sort of attitude could get you shot.”

“It might have gotten me shot tonight if you hadn’t been there.” He said, the sincerity in his voice surprising her.

“I’ll talk to him.” Callie promised. 

“Yeah, that’ll be better than if I try. He likes you.” Butch said.

Callie barked out a laugh. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll see what I can do to smooth things over.”

Butch nodded. He looked back to the other side of the large room. There were even more people now, judging by the movement she could see and the din of the crowd. “So, I guess I’m not allowed to make fun of the bad dancing?”

“You can do whatever you want, just don’t be an asshole about it. How would you feel if they laughed at your dancing?” Callie asked. Maybe if she helped him see things from other peoples point of view she could help him understand how to be better. He studied her seriously, and for a moment she thought it was the right thing to say, then the smirk appeared back on his face, this time with playfulness instead of malice.

“Wouldn’t happen. I’m great at dancing.”

Callie had to laugh. “Of course we’re great at dancing. Lessons were mandatory.”

“Hey, what’s this ‘we’?” He asked with a grin.

“I will shoot you.” Callie said with a laugh.

“No you wouldn’t. I’m a nice guy now.” He said.

“Yeah? Then fucking prove it.” She said. The words came out harsher than she intended, and she watched as the smile left Butch’s face. “Sorry.” She added.

He shrugged. “It’s fine. Can we go get a drink now?”

“Yeah.” Callie said, letting the tension dissipate as she walked beside her friend back to the bar. He hadn’t turned on her. He was still her friend. Callie let out another sigh. 

The upside of their unfortunate detour was that there was no one left in line for the bar. Butch bought them each a beer, and they set their jackets and bags at the same table they were before. Callie was stretching her arms when she felt another tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Vera smiling at her.

“Hello. It’s good to see both of you here tonight.” She said in her sing-song voice.

“How’ve you been, Vera?” Callie asked.

“Well, thank you. I wanted to have a word about Brian.” She said.

 

“Is he okay?” Callie asked. She motioned to the chairs, and all three of them sat back down at the table.

“He’s just fine.” She said with a smile. “But tomorrow happens to be his birthday, and well, he just thinks so highly of you, and it would mean a lot to him if you wished him well.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. Does he want anything? Maybe a bat? I’ll get him a bat.” Callie said, already looking towards Seagrave’s shop.

Vera sighed. “I’m sure he’d like anything you give him, but honestly, what he wants most is to get out of the city once in a while. He’s been a great help, but he has no interest in hotel management, and I can’t protect him out there. Maybe someday you could take him somewhere?” She asked. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

Callie thought for a moment. She’d given herself a week to get out to this unknown vault, and she had planned to take it easy for the next couple of days, but what harm could a simple day trip be? 

“You know, I’ve heard good things about Canterbury Commons. Why don’t I take him out there tomorrow? If we leave early, we could be back by seven or so.” She said, bringing her Pipboy up to examine her maps.

“Oh, he would love that, Callie. Let me give you some money.”

“No need. Call it my present to him.”

“I insist.” Vera said, handing her a small pouch that based on weight, Callie figured had around fifty caps in it.

“Thanks. I’m definitely getting him that bat then.”

Vera smiled and touched her shoulder before walking off to talk to Gary. Callie took a drink of her beer and looked at Butch. “Day trip?”

“You sure?” Butch asked. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your special day with your boy.”

“He’s not ‘my boy’, and no, you can come if you want. Maybe he can watch me give you another shooting lesson.”

Butch seemed far more relaxed than earlier, and they’d fallen back into their comfortable rhythm of silly banter. “Hey, I’ve been shooting just fine. I got us through that mess at the hospital, while hurt.”

Callie nodded. “And you did good, but you still need the practice. Otherwise you’ll end up spending all your money on ammo instead of food.”

Butch took a drink instead of answering, just as Wilks ran back up to them. “Vera said I get to come with you tomorrow. That you’re going to Canterbury Commons?” He asked, as if he was waiting for her to prove him wrong.

“Yeah. You should have told me it was your birthday. We’ll meet at the bridge at 8am, so don’t stay up too late.”

He looked thrilled. “Thank you. Thank you so much. What do I bring?”

“Uh, I don’t know, a jacket? We’ll go along the caravan routes, so I don’t think we’ll run into trouble, but pack light.”

“I will. I can’t wait.” He said, and ran off again. Callie smiled as she watched him leave. It felt good to be doing so much good for people. It made her feel like all of the hell she’d been going through wasn’t for nothing.

“Do you really think we won’t run into trouble, or was that a guess.” Butch said flatly.

“A well informed guess.” Callie said. She finished the rest of her beer and smiled. “So, are we dancing or what?”

Butch stood up. “If you think you can keep up with me, then yeah, we’re dancing.”

And they danced. Butch might be prone to exaggeration, but he had always been one of the best dancers in the vault. He moved her around the floor so smoothly that people turned to watch. Laughing and smiling, they moved together as if they’d danced a hundred times before, instead of just the once at their graduation dance. Callie had needed this, she realized. A night not fueled by violence, or dulled by too much alcohol, but just fun with friends. She’d had so little of that growing up, and it was one of the things she treasured most about being out in the world. They had attracted a crowd, and after a few songs, they broke apart, and danced with the others who seemed eager to dance with both of them. Callie was happy to dance with whoever wanted to, but it was hard not to look around in hopes that Harkness might come back. If there was anyone here Callie really wanted to dance with, it was him. She didn’t see him, but she was still having a great time, enjoying the positive attention that surrounded her. She felt focused, clear-headed, and ready for the unknown horrors that the next week would bring.


	31. Out To Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening:
> 
> The Breeze and I - Santo & Johnny  
> A Teenager In Love - Dion and the Belmonts

A cold wind blew across the hood of the car where Callie was sitting. With one hand, she shielded the sandwich she was eating against the dust in the air. Vera had insisted on packing them lunch, and neither Callie or Butch argued against that. 

“Look at the ball next time, not me.” Butch said to Wilks, who stood a few feet away, bat in hand. 

“You mean the can?” Wilks said, taking a practice swing. They’d been traveling for hours now, but Wilks had no less enthusiasm or energy than when they’d started.  
“Yeah. Keep your eye on the can.” Butch replied, rolling his eyes before pitching the can over. Wilks swung and missed, letting out an annoyed yell. Butch laughed. “That was better. You were real close that time.”

Wilks dutifully jogged away to pick up the can, while Butch stretched his shoulders. “You done yet?” He asked Callie.

Callie was in the middle of the last bite of her sandwich. She nodded and started to gather her things.

“Okay, last try.” Butch said as Wilks tossed him back the can.

“Sure.” Wilks said, taking his spot and squaring up. Butch wound up and pitched again. This time Wilks connected. The can didn’t go far, but it was the first time he’d hit it, and he was understandably excited. Callie clapped, still eating.

When they’d met up that morning, Wilks had come running towards him wearing his father’s very large overcoat. Even with the growth spurt he was going through, the coat looked comically large on the boy’s slight frame. Callie had to elbow Butch in the ribs to keep him from laughing. But the kid was happy, and she wasn’t about to criticize his wardrobe when hers consisted mostly of tattered cargo pants and fitted shirts she’d found on a floor somewhere.

Callie hopped off the hood of the car, pulling her bag onto her back in the same motion. “Ready, guys?”

“Yeah.” Wilks said, jogging over to her. “I just... I really can’t thank you enough. I haven’t been outside this long since you brought me to Rivet City.”

Callie smiled. “You don’t have to keep thanking me. It’s okay.”

They continued forward, up the dusty hills and over centuries-old dead grass and roots. This area was always bleak, but it looked extra forlorn. Callie shot a guilty look at Wilks, who surprisingly looked fascinated at everything he saw. Callie laughed to herself. It was hard to understand his enthusiasm after only being inside Rivet City for a few months, but Callie knew that growing up in the vault had left her with a very different view of how long one can go without being outdoors. Although, she thought, now that she’d had the ground under her feet and the wind in her hair, she couldn’t imagine being happy if she were cooped up either.

“How much longer?” Butch asked.

Callie looked at her map. “Um... we just need to keep following these power lines north for a while, then we’ll be there. I don’t know, probably less than an hour?”

Butch nodded and turned his radio up. Callie was about to tell him he would attract too much attention, but the upside of being out in the open was that she could see that there was no movement around them for what looked like miles. It was a welcome change, and one she’d been attributing to Wilks.

“I tell you, Kid. You’re lucky. If I was out here alone I would have fallen into at least three raider camps by now.”

“I don’t feel very lucky.” Wilks said, scowling. She hadn’t meant to annoy him, so she didn’t say anything more for a time. Butch kicked every thing in his way as they went, his way off passing the time. Wilks was still very interested in every car and homestead they passed, and Callie, while keeping an eye out for anything around them, was able to relax and listen to the radio. She was allowing herself to be happy, she realized. It had been so hard to separate any happy feelings from guilt. Like she was betraying her father by not grieving every moment. But lately, that feeling was easing, and it gave her a small sense of peace.

At long last, a row of buildings appeared over the last hill. There were two caravans near the buildings, and several people gathered around each. 

“It’s a lot smaller than I thought It’d be.” Callie said. “I guess it doesn’t take much to be considered a town, huh?”

No one else seemed concerned, but they were all glad to stop walking for a while. Callie approached Crazy Wolfgang, a man she’d had dealings with before. Butch and Wilks followed a step behind.

“Hey there. What can I do ya for?” Wolfgang said with his usual exaggerated smile.

“For starters, I’m looking for a thick leather strap, sort of like this one.” Callie said, pointing to the shoulder strap she’d fashioned for her plasma rifle.

“Let me see.” Said Crazy Wolfgang, looking through one of his saddlebags. After a few minutes of trading, Callie had a new project, and they headed towards a cafe that actually looked operational.

“Okay, time to see if the rumors about this place are true.” Callie said, approaching the man behind the counter.

“Visitors. Welcome.” He said, “I’m Joe. Have a seat wherever you’d like.”

There was a row of empty booths, and Callie motioned to the closest one. The three of them sat down, with Wilks opposite of Callie and Butch. After a moment, Joe came over with some menus.

“Please note, all our menu items are subject to availability. Today I would recommend the salsbury steak.”

“Thanks, but we’ve already eaten.” Callie said, “but I heard... and this might sound silly, but I heard you actually have ice cream here.”

“You heard right. We have brahmin out back, and a functioning walk-in freezer.”

“All right.” Callie said, she looked to Butch and Wilks in turn, who nodded. “Three please.”

The man went to get their orders and Butch grinned at Callie. “You didn’t tell me about the ice cream. I would have walked faster.”

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” She said, then turned to Wilks. “We heard about it growing up in the vault, but all the ingredients for real ice cream ran out long before we were born.”

Wilks raised his eyebrows. “Really? You know, Vera makes it sometimes.”

Callie slumped forward. “No, I did not know that.”

Butch laughed. “Is this why you wanted to come all this way? Oh man, that’s funny.”

Callie let out a groan and put her head in her hands.

“Well, she only makes it when the right caravan comes through. We haven’t had any in months. This is going to be great. Really.” Wilks said, sounding guilty. “I love ice cream.”

Callie peeked at him through her hands. “Okay, good. Good.” She said with a bit of a laugh. The man brought them their ice cream in chipped bowls. They dug in, and Callie was pleased to find it was almost as good as Old Lady Palmer had described it. They’d been walking long enough that the cold didn’t bother her, and the sweetness was a nice pick-me-up after the long journey. 

Between bites, Callie placed the leather strap she’d bought on the table, and busied herself with attaching to it some bits of metal wire. Butch explained the basics of baseball to Wilks, who was as happy to listen as Butch was to talk about something he was good at. Once they were done, Callie asked Wilks to stand up. She handed him the leather strap.

“Here. You can attach the bat to it, and wear it across your back. Keeps your hands free.” She said, taking the bat from him and clipping it to the strap to show him.

“Oh. That’s...” Wilks started, suddenly looking overwhelmed. He took the strap and sat back down. To his credit, Butch didn’t tease him, and became very interested in his Pipboy. Wilks looked up after a moment, and Callie smiled gently at him.

“I thought today would be really hard, you know, without my dad. And it is...but it’s really nice too. I know you said I didn’t have to thank you again, but thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

Callie wasn’t sure what to say, so she just nodded. After another moment, she stood up, putting a hand on Wilks’ shoulder as she passed to go pay Joe. They were just about to leave when a boy about Wilks’ age ran through the door, a huge smile on his face.

“It’s starting, they’re here!” He yelled, before running back outside.

Callie followed the boy, curious. “Who’s here?” She asked the boy. 

“The superheroes! Look, there’s the Mechanist now!” The kid yelled, pointing to where two bots and a man in an obviously homemade robot costume was walking down the street. Callie held back a laugh. 

“That’s a superhero, huh?” She asked as the man trudged down the street, looking as clumsy as Callie had felt wearing power armor for the first time. She’d heard Three Dog talk about the “superheroes” of Canterbury Commons, but she had assumed that was a rumour to drum up business for the settlement.

“He’s amazing. And he’s the only thing that can stop her.” The boy said, pointing in the other direction. 

“I can’t see anybody.” Wilks said from behind Callie. Callie reached out and pulled Wilks by the coat so that he was in front of her, also looking for any sign of what the boy was pointing at now. Instead of a person, two giant ants came into view. Wilks flinched as soon as he saw them. Oh shit, the last thing she wanted was to remind him of Greyditch. She was about to pull him back into the cafe when she saw the second hero step out from behind the ants. She wore a skintight outfit with a large breast plate, and a mask with ant antennae. She swished her hips as she walked forward, her red lips parting to let out an overdramatic laugh.

Callie took another look at Wilks, searching his face for signs of fear. Instead he sighed heavily and looked up at her with wide, concerned eyes. “This is going to give me really confusing dreams.”


	32. Ant We Got Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening: 
> 
> Ain’t We Got Fun - Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby  
> Ain’t Misbehavin’ - Fats Waller

“I don’t like it.” Callie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You don’t gotta like it, but it’s what makes the most sense if we really want to get this all done today.” Butch replied, mimicking her gesture with his own arms. 

“Just... if there’s any trouble at all-”

Butch scoffed. “Man, you really think I’m some kinda little kid you have to babysit, don’t you. I’m older than you, you know.”

“It’s not age, it’s experience.” Callie said, keeping her voice low despite her frustration. “I’ve been out here a lot longer than you, and I was trained-”

“Callie, relax. It’s one chick and a bunch of ants. I can handle it. You take care of the robot guy, and we’ll meet back here before it gets dark. Piece of cake.”

Callie bit her lip as she thought. There was no way she was going to take Wilks into an anthill, much less on his birthday, and she knew she needed to be the one to deal with anything technical. It was already 2pm, and and splitting up was the best way to ensure they’d still get Wilks back to Rivet City by the end of the day. Butch was capable enough in a fight, and if she could handle fire breathing ants on her own, he should have less trouble with the regular kind. Judging by the display they’d seen, she got the idea that the two “heroes” were more misguided than malevolent, but it still worried her.

“Fine, okay.” She said finally. But if I’m done first I’m coming after you.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Butch said, taking out his shotgun and storming off in the same direction as the AntAgonizer.

“I’m sure he knows you mean well.” Wilks said from beside her.

She smiled down at him. “I know. This whole thing is way more silly than dangerous, but we still need to be on the alert.” She said, leading him in the opposite direction. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay in town?”

“No, I’m okay. And I’ll be careful too, really.” Wilks said.

Wilks still seemed happy just to be along for the ride, and Callie didn’t mind having him with her. While he might have been safer in the town with the mostly friendly people they’d met, he was still just a kid, and she felt better keeping him in her line of sight. “It shouldn’t be too far.” She said, checking her map. It would only be a short walk up to this robot repair center that the boy from town, Derek, had mentioned. With Butch gone, Callie turned on her own radio. Wilks hummed along to the music as they walked. After a time, a large warehouse came into view. 

“How do we tell if this is the place?” Wilks asked.

“Well,” Callie said, examining their surroundings, “first of all, there are lights on, which is a good sign somebody’s in there, and look at the tread on the ground.” She pointed to two long lines in the dirt. “See how it’s heavy and spaced out? That’s probably a sentry bot.”

“Okay, yeah.” Wilks said, examining the tracks for himself. When they reached the warehouse door, Callie drew her plasma rifle and turned to Wilks. Before she could say anything, he pointed to the gun. “Is that the same kind of gun Chief Harkness had when he turned those supermutants into goo?”

Callie nodded, smiling at the rifle in her hands. “Yeah. It’s good for robots. Now, as soon as there’s any trouble at all, I want you to-”

“Hit the deck. I remember.” 

“Good man, Here we go.” Callie said, opening the door. She was two steps inside when she heard a sentry bot, clearly in attack mode. Without hesitation, she grabbed Wilks and shoved him back outside, before running forward to crouch behind a metal desk. She barely made it to cover before it shot a missile at her. The desk slammed into her shoulder from the force of the explosion. She came out of her position and fired in quick succession before the sentry bot could reload. Once she was sure it had powered down, she went back to open the door, her shoulder sore and her ears still ringing.

“Oh, hello. Won’t you come in?” She said, as if she was inviting him into her house. Wilks looked annoyed until he saw the state of the floor in front of the desk. 

“Oh, wow. So, more dangerous than silly, then?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Callie said, rubbing her shoulder. “Here I was, excited to talk to the guy who builds robots, but now I’m just pissed off.”

It was slow going, but they progressed through the heavy security without further injury. Callie took a page from Sarah Lyons’ book and methodically cleared each room before moving to the next. She made a note to thank her again. Callie was no Sentinel, but she managed to keep Wilks out of immediate danger. 

After struggling with several of the terminals, she finally found one that was wired into the whole system. “Okay, so if I just... yeah. Watch this.” She said excitedly. As dangerous as the warehouse was, she was having a pretty good time. Wilks got to see some action without having to worry too much, and the Mechanist’s security had proved an engaging challenge. And Callie loved a challenge. She hit enter one last time on the terminal in front of her, and watched as an electric charge began to build in the next room. “Oh shit!” She yelled, grabbing Wilks’ coat and pulling him to the other end of the room. The pulse explosion burst through the room, frying the terminal Callie had been using with a loud bang. 

Callie looked at Wilks. “You okay?” She asked, before laughing. 

Wilks smiled, patting down his sandy hair, which was standing up in several places. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

Callie sighed and stretched her sore shoulder. Just when her last set of bruises were fading, she thought. “Okay. That should take care of the rest of the robots. Let’s go.”

They continued until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. Callie frowned. “I don’t understand. We’ve been everywhere else.” She said, approaching a broken terminal. She tried to get it to work but couldn’t.

“You don’t think... he was one of the robots?” Wilks asked, walking around the room.

“I... don’t think so.” Callie said. It had looked like a man in a costume, but given her experience, it wasn’t always easy to tell. “Shit, I hope not.”

Callie frowned and rubbed her shoulder, as Wilks paced the room. “Hey, look at this.” He said. She walked over to where he stood by a coffee maker. “This is warm.”

Callie examined the coffee maker. He was right, it was warm, and the cord was twice as thick as it should be. “Good work.” She said. “Let’s see what this does.”

She hit the On button, and sure enough, a hidden panel in the wall appeared, revealing an ornate metal door. Callie pressed another button on the door, and slowly and almost beautifully, the many layers of the door peeled away. Wilks ran to stand behind Callie before she could grab him by his coat again. Callie had her rifle at the ready when the door opened to reveal The Mechanist himself, who immediately launched into a speech not unlike the one he’d given in the town.

“Whoa, hold on. We just want to talk.” Callie said, lowering her weapon. It took a lot of talking to get the Mechanist to do anything but give impassioned speeches. She learned quickly not to say the AntAgonizer’s name, because that set him off more than anything.

“Look, I can talk all day about how what you’re doing is a bad idea, but when it comes down to it, somebody’s going to get hurt, and there’s a good chance it’ll be that little kid, Derek. You could do a lot of good for this town. By the look of it, it could really use a good mechanic.”

“Do you really think I’m doing more harm than good?” He asked, finally listening to her. She nodded, and after hesitating, he reached up and took his mask off, passing it to her. He was older than she expected. There were wrinkles around his eyes, and a hint of grey at his temples. “Take my suit, Citizen. I can’t face the town like this. Not anymore.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need it. There’s nothing wrong with being a hero, just make sure you’re fighting the right people. There’s a lot of hell raining down on D.C. right now. I don’t know how bad this thing with The Enclave is going to get, but the world may still need The Mechanist.” He nodded as she passed him back his helmet. “Also can you build a car? I could really use a car.”

He chuckled a bit, and they said their goodbyes. Callie was happy to leave before he realized that she’d disabled all of his security, but was confident that she’d stopped his daily face-offs. Back outside, they blinked against the orange glow of sunset. 

“Why did he think I was joking? I really good use a car.” Callie muttered as they started back for town.

“How do you think Butch did?” Wilks asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m guessing it either came down to a firefight, or he gave her haircut. I can never predict what’s going to happen with that guy.”

“But didn’t you grow up together?” Wilks asked.

Callie sighed. “Yeah, kinda. We didn’t get along in the vault though. Honestly, he was kind of a jackass.” She looked around. He wasn’t in the diner, or anywhere else on the street. “I’m sure he’s fine.” She said with a frown.

“I’m sure too.” Wilks said. They walked through the town and beyond, and after a few minutes of silent walking, they saw him in the distance, talking to a woman. Callie breathed a sigh of relief, then raised her eyebrows in surprise as they hugged. The woman walked off, leaving Butch to walk up to them alone, a grin on his face. Despite the cold, his jacket was unzipped.

“Who was that?” She asked as he came close. His hair was messy. Callie couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen him with messy hair.

“That was Tanya. We uh...” He said, grinning again. Callie looked over at the blonde figure walking off into the distance, her hips swishing as she walked. 

“Was that the... oh, really, Butch?” Callie asked, trying to suppress a smile. 

Butch shrugged. “What? She had a bad childhood and likes comic books. What can I say, we bonded.”

“Oh, that’s what happened? You ‘bonded’?” Callie asked with a laugh, starting to walk south towards town. “How old is she, like thirty-five?” 

“She’s not that old. And who cares? The point is, she won’t cause any more trouble.” Butch said, walking backwards so he was face to face with Callie. “She feels real bad about the whole thing, and she’s going to go to Megaton and try to make a new life. So, I did my job.”

“Uh huh.” Callie said, still laughing. “Sounds like it.” 

“Oh, and you’re so high and mighty? Like you didn’t want to go deal with the other guy ‘cause you got a thing for robots?”

Callie punched him in the arm, and he punched her right back, hitting her sore shoulder. She yelped involuntarily, and the shift was instant. Butch stepped forward, suddenly full of concern. “Aw hell, Cal, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She said through grit teeth, rubbing her shoulder. “Nothing a good week’s worth of sleep won’t help. Come on, let’s go.”

They walked south, a beautiful sunset at their side. Butch turned his radio back on, and they walked in comfortable silence, until they heard the whir of what Callie now knew was a Vertibird.


	33. Helicopter Parenting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Orange Colored Sky - Screamin’ Jay Hawkins  
> Sing Sing Sing - The Andrews Sisters

The vertibird passed over their heads and landed down about a mile away, down a hill and out of sight. They could still hear it.

“What the hell is that?” Butch said, his shotgun at the ready. He looked across the rest of the skyline to see if there were any more.

“The Enclave.” Callie nearly growled. She expected her stomach to clench, she expected to panic. She just felt rage. “We need to get out of here. They’ll kill us.” 

She started walking west, planning on giving the vertibird a wide berth, when Butch stopped her by touching her good shoulder.

“How many people can fit in that thing? You don’t think we can take them?” He asked, patting the shotgun in his arms.

“No. I don’t.” she said, looking between him and Wilks, who held his bat. She nodded to Butch’s shotgun. “And that won’t even touch them. You still have Sydney’s gun, right?”

Butch traded the shotgun for the laser pistol strapped to his hip. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to break this baby in.”

“We’re not fighting them, not if we can help it. There’s still a chance they didn’t see us as they passed.” Callie said, starting to walk again. Her heart was pumping fast, and she gripped her rifle tight. “Keep your eyes open. Both of you.”

“But Callie-” Butch started.

“You think I don’t want to go down there? You think I haven’t thought about going out to the purifier every single day since it happened and vaporizing as many as I can before they take me down?” She shook her head. “I hate them more than I’ve ever hated anything, but now is not the time.” She nodded towards Wilks. Her voice was shaking, but she didn’t care.

To her relief, Butch nodded. “Okay. Whatever you wanna do, I’m with you.” Wilks had been silent throughout their exchange, but was staying very close to Callie’s side. 

Unfortunately, the luck that had taken them to Canterbury Commons without incident had run out. From behind them, they heard a loud roar. “Now what?” Callie asked, turning to look. There was a smoking car in the distance, but she couldn’t see what had made the noise. “That didn’t sound like a yao guoi.” 

“Callie?” Wilks said in a hushed voice, pointing to a large rock pile about two miles north of where they stood. Callie was confused for a moment, until one of the largest rocks moved. She squinted her eyes to make out the tan colored figure. It was a monster. A monster unlike anything Callie had seen before.

“Wilks, what the hell is that?” She whispered harshly. Butch had moved so they were all grouped close together. She wasn’t sure if it had seem them, but it was now walking slowly in their direction.

“Deathclaw.” He replied.

“Fuck, Callie. You said there weren’t any dragons out here.” Butch said.

“I... didn’t know.” She replied, shooting a worried look at Wilks. There was no cover, nowhere to hide. The town was too far away now, and the only thing nearby was the vertibird, and Callie certainly didn’t trust whoever was in there to help them. She took another look at Wilks. He was holding it together, but his eyes were wide, and she was reminded of the day she’d met him. Keeping him safe was more important than her anger.

“Come on. Let’s go this way. Slowly. I don’t think it saw us.” She said, leading them south towards the vertibird.

“But you said-”

“We’ll risk it, as far as I’ve heard, they aren’t attacking random citizens yet.” She said, turning to Wilks. “Stay behind me, and-”

“Hit the deck?”

“No, you run. Run and hide. The second things get ugly, or it looks like we can’t handle it, you run.” Callie said, double checking her weapon. Wilks nodded. 

The deathclaw was still walking towards them. They set off, looking over their shoulders every few steps. It hadn’t sped up, and it hadn’t given them any indication that it was following them yet, but Callie could feel the panic rising off of both Butch and Wilks. When they came over the last hill, the vertibird came into view. It had landed near what looked like a makeshift outpost. Two men, one in armor, the other in a grey Enclave uniform, were unloading large metal boxed from off the vertibird. A few feet away, another soldier in power armor stood with very large gun in both arms.

“Oh thank god, there’s only three of them.” Callie said with a nervous laugh. She looked behind her again. The deathclaw hadn’t sped up, but its large strides had brought it much closer than it was before. “Okay. Let’s go.”

She led them down the hill and towards the Enclave officers. She felt the anger rising again. She kept her mind on the scared boy beside her. This was for him, not her.

One of armored men, a tall man with a bad mustache, looked up as they drew close. Callie swallowed her anger and smiled politely. “Hey, you might want to be careful-.”

She was cut off by the other man. “What’s your name, Miss?”

“Catherine.” She said, the first name she could think of. The day her father died, Dr. Li told her not to tell the Enclave who she was. It seemed the smart thing to do now. The man in the grey uniform was looking her her up and down in a way she really did not like. 

“Keep moving.” Callie said under her breath. They kept walking, with Callie keeping a close eye on the two men, who were talking to each other. She kept her smile plastered on her face, as her finger inched closer to the trigger of her rifle. “There’s a semi-truck in the distance.” She whispered. It was far. They wouldn’t make it if they all went running at the same time, but she might be able to buy them some time. “Do you see it?”

Wilks gave a small nod of the head, which Callie caught out of the corner of her eye. Both men had stopped what they were doing, and were examining her closely. One pointed to Butch’s jacket. 

“Stop right there.” The officer said. He seemed to be the one in charge. Callie stopped, muttering a ‘go’ to the other two. They kept walking as Callie stopped, looking back.

“Is there a problem?” She asked.

“What’s your last name?” He asked. His hand was on his hip near a plasma pistol.

“Why do you ask?” She called back, smile still on her face.

“We are looking for a dangerous criminal that fits your description. It’s very important to the president himself that we find this murderer, and bring her to justice.”

“Well, I’d love to help you, but my, uh, brothers and I are in a bit of a hurry.” Callie said, looking over. Wilks and Butch were not nearly as far away as she’d hoped. 

She hadn’t known they’d been looking for her, but with a sinking feeling, she realized that they must have been. Of course the Enclave wanted anyone who had anything to do with Project Purity. Plus, she had taken out a lot of their soldiers on the way out of the purifier. 

“I’m not going to ask you again. What’s your last name?” The man said. Both men had their hands over their weapons now. She looked over at the other soldier with the large gun. They had stepped closer as well. If they wanted her dead, they would have shot her by now, she told herself. Otherwise, they wouldn’t ask so many questions. Still, she didn’t like the idea of being incapacitated, and had no idea how else she was going to stall. She smiled at them again, looking slowly between the three of them. She had her rifle in her arms, she could probably get one shot in before they started firing.

Before she could make that choice, a laser shot hissed past her. It hit the ground in front of one of the officers, and Callie snapped her head around to look. She could see Wilks running as fast as he could towards the truck, as Butch walked back towards her, gun raised. 

“Shoot her legs!” One of them yelled. Callie took aim at the armored soldier, but before anyone else could fire, there was loud roar as the giant deathclaw came barreling down the hill towards the Enclave.

“Run, Callie!” Butch yelled, firing his laser pistol as the Enclave soldiers frantically turned to shoot the monster. With minimal effort, it threw one of their metal boxes at the mustached officer. Callie ran south, grabbing Butch by the arm as she passed, pulling her with him. He was a faster runner, but stayed with her until they caught up to Wilks. The back door of the large Nuka-Cola delivery truck was open, and with help, they got Wilks inside, then Butch. Callie hopped up inside, then leaned out so she could see what was going on. There were green flashes of plasma fire, and loud roaring from the outpost. The mustached man was thrown off his feet and backwards by the deathclaw, while the other armored soldier drew closer. The weapon they carried was a heavy duty flamethrower, and a long stream of flame lit up the outpost. The deathclaw roared again. 

“Look!” Callie said. Wilks and Butch were at her shoulder in an instant, still out of breath. They were just in time to see the stream of flame hit the vertibird, and after a second, the entire outpost exploded in a huge flash. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left besides some bent metal boxes and a twisted hull.

“This...” Wilks said, still out of breath, “this was a good birthday.”

Callie turned to him and laughed. She pulled him into a tight hug, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. When she let go, she turned to Butch, who was looking at the wreckage with his mouth open. “You didn’t have to do that.” She said to him.

He shrugged. “I’m with you, Callie. I told you that.” 

She nodded, feeling unexpectedly emotional. She grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him tightly, which he returned, laughing with her. “Shit, the things you get me into.” He said.

“Oh, you know me, never a dull moment.” She said with a shaky voice. Looking between the two of them, she made up her mind. No more distractions, no more detours. She’d get the kid home, get a few hours of sleep, and then she was going to that vault. It was time to get this done.


	34. Clean and Sober

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> I’m Gonna Live Till I Die - Sammy Davis Jr.  
> They Can’t Take That Away From Me - Sarah Vaughan

Callie stood leaning against the rusted railing of Rivet City’s outer deck, a chipped coffee mug in her hands. In the distance, she watched as Enclave soldiers patrolled the outer wall of the Jefferson Memorial. The sun was still rising, casting a rich orange light on everything around her.

Behind her, she heard movement, before the outer door swung open, and an out-of-breath Butch stumbled out, looking frantically around. “There you are!” He said when he saw her, “I thought you might have left.”

Callie motioned for him to join her. “Nah. I just couldn’t sleep and needed some air.”

Butch stood beside her at the railing, leaning heavily on it as he caught his breath. “I looked everywhere. I even woke up the security guards upstairs.”

Callie smiled. “I bet they loved that.”

Butch shrugged. “They should lock the door if they don’t want people up there, instead of just yelling.”

Callie took a sip of her coffee, which had cooled since she’d picked it up at Vera’s half an hour ago. She looked out towards the memorial again, focusing on the shimmering barriers the Enclave had set up. 

“You okay?” Butch asked, following her gaze.

“Fine. It’s just, even if we get the G.E.C.K. out of that vault, assuming it’s small enough to carry, I have no idea how I’m supposed to get through all of that.” She said, motioning to the memorial.

“We’ll get through. We showed those soldiers yesterday, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve already given the Enclave all kinds of hell.”

Callie shook her head. “I put you and Wilks in way more danger than I should have. I don’t know why I didn’t think they were looking for me. These jackets... it may as well be a target on our backs. We should probably stop wearing them.”

“No fuckin’ way. Besides, it’s good for our reputation as a gang.” Butch said, without a hint of sarcasm.

“It’s not good if it gets you killed.”

“I don’t care. If they want to start shit, I’m ready.” He said, puffing out his chest. “My whole life I’ve been told what I’m supposed to do, and wear, and how to act. ‘Born in the vault, die in the vault’, all that shit. Now that I’ve finally got out of that hole in the ground, I’m not about to change who I am for those Enclave assholes, and neither should you.” He thought for a moment before continuing, “And thanks to you, no matter how I go out, at least it won’t be from dying of boredom in the same fucking place I was born.”

“Born in the vault, die in the vault.” She repeated, before pointing at the purifier. “That’s where I was born.” She said. “And now it’s where both of my parents have died. I’m not saying it’ll be boring but...” She laughed bitterly, and lowered her voice. “Alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.”

“Don’t think about that, Cal. It’ll make you nuts. You could have died a hundred times out here already, but you haven’t. You don’t know when or where you’re going to die, and neither to I.”

“I know. It just... this feels different.”

Butch nodded, but Callie wasn’t sure he understood. She barely understood what she was trying to say. They stood in silence for a little while, before she saw Butch shifting his weight from foot to foot, getting antsy.

“Have you eaten yet? I haven’t, and I need to give this back to Vera.” Callie asked, tapping her coffee cup.

They walked back down to The Weatherly. It was too early for most of the regulars, but Vera was talking to the few people who were seated. They’d brought Wilks back just before midnight the night before. Vera wasn’t upset that they’d been out so late, but she had stayed up, and was very relieved when they’d walked in. Wilks had been so tired he was nearly asleep on his feet, and Callie wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t seen him this morning. The day had been exhausting for her too, and she was way more used to the long, hard days than the kid.

“So, where exactly is this place?” Butch asked, once they’d ordered.

“Far out to the north-west. Near some caves, which from what they told me, might be the only way through.”

“Caves, huh?” Butch said with a frown. “That sucks.”

Callie held out her arm so Butch could see where she’d marked her Pipboy map. “I’ve been meaning to ask, is it just roaches you don’t like? Cause you seemed just fine with ants.”

“Yeah, ants are different. Roaches are disgusting.” Butch said with a shudder. “But I don’t want to talk about that. Not when we’re about to eat.”

Callie smiled. “Fair enough.”

Thinking ahead, Callie ordered a lunch to-go for both of them. Once it was packed and ready, they left the city. Out in the wastes, Callie felt a little more at ease The trip would be long, and as much as she wanted to get there as fast as possible, she would make sure they took time to rest more than they had before. Especially now that she knew what a deathclaw looked like.

“Did you spend any time in Megaton?” Callie asked.

“No. I heard about it, but I never went there. Do I get to finally see this house you’ve been bragging about?”

“Hey, I only mentioned it once or twice, and I definitely wasn’t bragging.” Callie said.

“Whatever you say, man.” 

They arrived in Megaton without issue, but Callie dreaded going inside. She hadn’t been back since just after her father died, and being at the gate brought back feelings she wasn’t keen on feeling. She was more grateful than she’d ever let on that Butch was with her. At least she had some sort of buffer against peoples’ questions. And then there were the Stahls, which was a mess she still felt guilty about.

“What a weird place. Why the hell did they build it around that thing.” Butch said, pointing down the hill at the bomb.

“I don’t know, people are weird.” Callie said, walking up to her house. She unlocked the door, and found Wadsworth right at the doorway.

“Ah, Miss Callie, you’re still alive. How nice.” He said, hovering backwards to give her space to enter.

“How’ve you been, Wadsworth?” Callie asked fondly.

“Quite well, thank you. Shall I turn on the space heater?”

“Please. This is Butch.” She said, motioning behind her. 

“This is bigger than I thought.” He said, then smirked. “I’d brag about it too.”

Callie picked up a pillow off her couch and threw it at him. “I figure we’d shower, eat, and just keep going. Sound good?”

“You didn’t tell me you had a shower.” Butch said, his eyes lighting up.

“You can go first if you want. I’ve got to take another look at the map.” Butch nodded, and followed Callie upstairs to her small bathroom. “I’ve got a couple of clean towels behind the door. Don’t use all the hot water.” 

She left a very happy Butch upstairs and went back down to get some water bottles from her butler. She’d just started to reorganize her bag when there was a knock on the door. Callie was happily surprised to find Moira on the other side.

“Oh good, you are here.” She chirped, “Sheriff Simms said he thought he saw you, but that it could have been someone in a similar jacket.”

“Hey, Moira. How’s it going?” Callie said, ushering her inside.

“I can’t stay long, but I wanted to pop in and give you this.” She said, holding up a data stick. Callie took it from her and plugged it into her Pipboy.

“What is it?” She said. Moira just smiled at her. Once it was downloaded, Callie was taken aback. In large green font, The Wasteland Survival Guide opened into her notes. 

“You finished it!” Callie said, grinning at Moira.

“Thanks to you. Look, written by Moira Brown and Callie Elliot.” She said, turning the dial on Callie’s Pipboy to the first page.

“I don’t know what to say, but I think I need to hug you.” Callie said, touched. Moira opened her arms, and they embraced. 

From upstairs, the bathroom door opened. “Damn. That was worth the trip. I haven’t showered in a place that clean since... damn, since the vault.” 

“Butch, come down here.” Callie said.

“Whoopsie. You didn’t tell me you were... entertaining.” Moira said, holding a hand over her mouth.

Callie laughed. “Oh no, that’s just Butch. He’s a friend of mine from the vault.”

Butch came down the stairs, combing his wet hair into its usual shape. Callie reached out her arm to show him her Pipboy. “Butch, this is Moira. I told you I was helping her out with her book, right? Look.” 

“Oh yeah, nice.” He said, examining her wrist. “You run the store, right?”

“I do. A pleasure to meet you, but I really should get back. Dex is a great mercenary, but he hates it when I leave him alone in the store for too long. I just wanted to make sure you got a copy before I started selling it.”

“Thank you, Moira. This... this means a lot.” She said, looking at her name on the first page.

“I’m glad you’re happy. After all, you’re the one who put the blood, sweat, and tears into it. Let me know what you think next time you’re in town.”

Moira left, and Callie hopped into the shower. The hot water felt good on her aching muscles, and she stepped out feeling cleaner than she had in a while. They ate their lunch on the couch together with the radio on. Once they were finished, Callie looked through her book, while Butch, at his insistence, dried and styled her hair. They left Megaton without talking to anyone else, which was fine by Callie. Being both clean and well-fed was a rare feeling, and had them both smiling and laughing as they walked. Callie kept looking down at her Pipboy, where she still had the first page of the book open. Having her name on something that would probably outlast her made her feel strangely at peace. 

They walked to the north-west of Megaton. Callie’s good mood had faded some now that they were getting close to Vault 101, but she tried her best to ignore the feelings that came with that. They’d been lucky again. Callie hadn’t fired her weapon all day, but looking in the distance, it looked like that was about to change. Up at the Springvale school, there were a couple of raiders yelling and making noise. 

Callie jogged up, Butch at her side, and drew her rifle. Looking through the scope, she saw a raider with a knife, stalking a wastelander who had fallen on the ground. She fired twice, the second shot dissolving the raider completely. She kept moving, and as she got close to the outside of the school, a raider jumped from the second floor down in front of her. She smashed him with the butt of her rifle, and as he staggered back, Butch shot him with his laser pistol. Still scanning the area for more raiders, Callie approached the wastelander on the ground, but stopped dead when she saw who it was. Her mouth went dry.

“A-Amata?”


	35. School Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> There Goes My Baby - The Drifters  
> The Tennessee Waltz - Jo Stafford

Callie could only stare as Amata looked up at her. From behind them, the front door to the school burst open and Wally ran out, followed closely by another raider with a machete. They were too close together to risk firing, so Callie swung her rifle onto her back and pulled on her powerfist, hurrying towards the raider. The raider reached her as Wally kept running. Callie punched as hard as she could, but the raider blocked her powerfist with his machete, which dented the rusted metal blade. He swore, and swung with his other hand. Callie twisted out of the way in time, and landed a hard hit to the man’s shoulder. He yelled, and raised his bent machete to slash at her, but Callie had already reached for her pistol. She fired, and the man crumpled to the ground. 

Amata was looking wide-eyed at the dead man on the ground beside her. “Are you all right?” Callie asked. She clipped her powerfist to the side of her pack, and held out her right hand, her pistol still in her left.

“Fuck, Callie. Are you still just hanging around outside the vault?” Wally said, budging in front of her and helping Amata up himself.

“Wally.” Amata warned as she got to her feet and dusted herself off.

Callie shot him condescending smile. “Yeah, watch your mouth, Wally. I just saved your skin.”

Wally turned around so they were face to face. “I had it under control.”

Callie shook her head. Seeing the two of them was stirring up a lot of unresolved anger. “Did you? ‘Cause to me, it really looked like you were leaving your overseer to die.”

Wally was turning very red in the face. “You should get out of here before I knock your teeth out.” He reached out and shoved her. Callie’s shoulder was still sore, but she didn’t let Wally know that.

“Don’t you fucking touch her.” Butch said as he walked up to them.

“Butch. You’re still alive? That’s a shock.” Wally asked. He sounded agitated, and Callie wondered if this was his first encounter with raiders. Butch sneered as he came to stand beside Callie.

“Please, all of you, stop this. We’re on the same side.” Amata said, sounding very diplomatic.

“Tell that to him.” Callie said. Wally was tall and strong, but Callie wasn’t the least bit concerned if it came down to a fight. She kept eye contact with him, but addressed Amata. “You might want to replace your bodyguard, Mata. This one gets worked up way too easily.”

Instead of anger, Wally suddenly looked smug. “Bodyguard? Try boyfriend, shithead.” 

Callie looked at Amata in shock, but instead of denying it, she looked away, almost as if she were ashamed. Callie laughed bitterly. “Wow.” She said as she holstered her pistol. “What are you even doing out here?”

“We’re scouting, the way our parents used to do before they closed the vault.” Amata said. “This is the furthest away from home we’ve been.” 

Callie nodded. It was hard to keep eye contact with her old friend, but she still felt the need to help her. She took a step away from Wally. “The school’s been heavily picked over. You won’t find much of value inside. You’re better off heading east, towards the town of Megaton. If you bring them clean water, I’m sure you can trade-”

“Hey, the last thing we need is your help.” Wally said, cutting her off and stepping between them again.

“Calm down, man, she knows her stuff. Let her talk.” Butch said.

Wally scoffed. “So what, you’re defending this bitch now?”

“Yeah. I look after my friends.” Butch said, sounding almost as angry as Wally.

“Yeah? Is that what you said to Paul?” Wally said. He had barely finished his sentence when Butch lunged. Wally tried to fight back, but Butch was faster. He had Wally on the ground in seconds, his arms pinned with one hand, as he hit Wally in the face with the other. 

“Callie, stop him!” Amata yelled. Callie was already moving, but she was in no rush. She let Butch get a few good hits in before even attempting to pull him away.

Butch stood up when he felt Callie’s hand on his shoulder, but he was absolutely furious. “Fucker.” He said, spitting at Wally on the ground before walking a few feet away to catch his breath.

“This is why she made you leave, you know. She knew you’d start shit like this.” Wally said from the ground, pointing at Callie, as if Butch hitting him was her fault.

“Shut up. Just shut up!” Amata said to Wally. Callie raised her eyebrows. Was that really what she thought? That she would start trouble in the vault? Again, she waited for Amata to deny his claim. When she didn’t, her heart sank. She turned to walk away. 

“Callie, wait.” 

Callie stopped, and looked back. “What?”

“Are you... okay?” Amata asked. There were tears in her eyes, which cooled Callie’s anger and left her feeling empty. She smiled sadly. She knew she couldn’t answer that question. Not honestly. Not now. 

“Take care of yourself, Amata. You can do better than this.” She said instead. With one last glare at Wally, who was struggling to his feet, she walked away. She hated leaving this way, but she knew if they stayed any longer one of them would seriously hurt Wally. She walked up to Butch, who was pacing a little ways off. She nodded to him, and they walked off without another look back.

“Well, that was horrible.” Callie said after a few minutes of silent walking. 

“I...” Butch started, then shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking. 

They approached an abandoned picnic area. “Come on. Let’s sit down and talk about this or we’re both going to be pissed off all day.” Callie said, motioning towards a nearby picnic table.

Butch sighed and stepped up onto the bench so he could sit on the tabletop. Callie sat beside him. She put her pack down beside her and pulled out a box of snack cakes. They each ate one and Callie felt her muscles finally begin to relax. Despite the chill in the air, the sun shone down directly overhead, heating the black leather of their matching jackets. It looked like Butch had something to say, but it was a while before he spoke.

“The day you left... the first day you left...” Butch started, “you weren’t the first person I asked for help.”

“Oh?” Callie asked.

“I saw the radroaches in the hallway and I... and I begged Wally to stay and help me. He ran off without answering me. He said later that he didn’t hear me, but he did. I know he did.” Butch said, the anger in his voice rising. “Later, when the roaches came for Paul... I froze again. Only for a second, but I fucking froze again. I took out three of those creepy things, but I wasn’t fast enough, and Paul is dead because of it.”

“Shit, Butch. I didn’t know.” Callie said softly.

“Nobody knew but Wally. And he never let me forget it.” Butch said, his voice cracking. “Wally’s a selfish asshole and a coward, but I’m just as bad as he is.” 

“That is not true.” Callie said, but Butch shook his head. 

“Of course you’d say that. You’re a good person. You stopped to help in the middle of all the shit you were dealing with.” He sniffed angrily, clearly trying to hold back his emotions. “After that, I couldn’t stand to be around Wally. When Amata started organizing her rebellion, he wanted us Tunnel Snakes to stay out of it, but I couldn’t, especially if there was a chance to get outside. Even when he said he was neutral, he wouldn’t leave us alone. He stopped wearing the jacket, and got mad at me for wearing Paul’s.” He touched the sleeve of the jacket he wore. 

“It’s not your fault, you know.” Callie said, patting him on the shoulder. “You didn’t let those roaches in, and you tried to stop them. When you couldn’t, you got help. That’s what most people would have done.” 

“You don’t have to say that.” Butch said, sounding unconvinced. 

“No, I do. And I’m sorry. I’ve been so caught up in my own grief I didn’t even consider that you were going through the same thing. That the whole vault was going through the same thing.”

Butch smiled at her despite the pain on his face. “Well, it’s not like any of us made it easy on you. You had every right to hate me, but you helped me... you’re still helping me. You’re a good friend, Cal.”

Callie nodded. “So are you.” She said, and meant it.

“I’m trying.”

“I know.”

They sat in silence on the picnic table for a while before Butch got restless. He examined his right hand closely. He’d split his knuckles on Wally’s face, but refused Callie’s offer of a bandage. They stood back up at the same time and continued west. Up ahead, an Enclave eyebot whirred by. She paused for a moment to shoot it down with her rifle before continuing. Despite their chat, she still couldn’t let go of what happened. She clenched her fists as she walked. 

“God, what an asshole.” She said out loud. 

Butch laughed. “I know, right? Even after we literally saved his life.”

Callie forced out a laugh, dispelling some of the tension she was feeling. “What could Amata possibly see in him. In Wally of all people?”

Butch shrugged. “I don’t know. If she needed muscle, she shouldn’t have kicked you out.”

Callie nodded, but didn’t respond. Butch looked at her closely. “You cared about her, didn’t you?” He asked gently.

She sighed. “I thought about what I’d say to her if I saw her again. I’ve run that conversation in my head a hundred times and now... here we are. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s resolved. Except that now she’s dating that asshole.”

“I’m sorry.”

Callie shrugged. “It’s fine. She’s tougher than she seems. She’ll come to her senses.”

“No, I mean, I’m sorry... for everything.”

“It’s okay, man. Really.” Callie said.

By the time they’d arrived at their destination, they’d managed to shake off the majority of their anger. 

“Lamplight Caverns.” Butch said, looking at a large sign outside of the cave. “Do you know anything about this place?” 

“Nah. Just that it’s the settlement closest to this vault, and it might be our only way through. So whoever we meet in there, try to be nice.”

“No problem.” Butch said, opening a rickety old door and walking into the cave, “I mean, come on, we dealt with Wally Mack today, I can’t imagine anyone in here could piss me off that much.”

“I hear that.” Callie said. The cave was well-lit, with strings of lights above their head. They continued downward until they reached a large, handmade wall.

Callie heard movement and after looking around, she spotted a child at the top of the wall.

“Hey there, little guy.” Butch said, waving up to him.

The little boy scowled down at them. “Hold it right there, Mungos, or I’ll blow your fucking head off.”


	36. Kids These Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Consider Yourself - Oliver! 1994 London Cast Soundtrack  
> Kids - Bye Bye Birdie Original Soundtrack Recording

The boy was so bundled up that they could only see half his face. He wore an adults metal helmet, a thick scarf, and a long coat even bulkier than the one Wilks wore. While he and Wilks were around the same age, MacCready was much shorter and much angrier. It took trading childish insults with Callie to convince him to let them inside.

“Now remember, Mungos, you’re only here ‘cause I say it’s okay, and I can change my mind any time I want.” The boy said as the gate opened.

“Fine by me, butthead.” Callie said. 

MacCready laughed. “You’re not too bad.... for a buttface mungo.”

Callie started to leave, but turned back. “So at what age do you turn into a mungo, because we’re only nineteen, you know.”

“Twenty.” Butch muttered. Callie looked sharply at him. 

“Then you’ve already been a mungo for a year!” MacCready yelled from the top of the wall, “And don’t try and tell me you’re not one because you’re too big.” 

Callie gave the mayor a salute and turned away. “He’s as wide as he is tall.” She whispered to Butch as they left the mayor behind. While Callie was amused by the small angry boy, she could feel the annoyance coming off of Butch in waves. 

They walked towards a small shack marked Essentials. Callie nudged Butch. “I thought you were born in February, did I miss your birthday?”

Butch shrugged. “It was December 27th. I just figured that sort of shit didn’t matter out here.”

“Aw, man. Who am I thinking of that was born in February?”

“Uh, Freddy and Old Lady Palmer, I think? Don’t tell me which one you mistook me for because I’ll be mad either way.”

Callie laughed. “Either way, I’m sorry I forgot. There’s supposed to be a gift shop further in, I’ll pick you up something nice.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get away from all these little creeps as fast as we can.”

Callie smiled. “Come on, it’s cute. They’ve got their own little society down here.” 

She held open the door behind her for him, as they entered what looked like a school room. Callie was eager to talk to the medic, and gave up three of her stimpaks without being asked.

“Won’t you need those?” Butch huffed from beside her.

“It’s fine, I still have a few. Besides, it’s not like the patients here have anywhere else they can go.”

The medic, Lucy, smiled up at her. The girl sounded older than she looked, and Callie could tell she’d seen a lot more than a kid her age ever should. “Thank you, Callie. And be careful on some of the upper walkways, they’re not made to carry much weight.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Callie replied, leading Butch back out into the cavern. 

“Did she call us fat?” Butch grumbled.

Callie laughed. “You need to relax, they’re just kids.”

“Mouthy kids. Mouthy kids with guns, and... fungus.” Butch said, narrowing his eyes as two well-armed kids ran past them.

“Oh yeah, remind me to talk to the mayor again on the way out, I’ve got a few buffout I could trade if he lets me.”

“Sure. But this Murder Pass is where we’re going next, right?”

“Yep,” Callie said, walking up towards another small shack, “as soon as we hit the gift shop.”

Butch frowned, but didn’t complain further. Callie couldn’t be too angry with him. It had already been an exhausting day, and Little Lamplight was equal parts charming and depressing.

The gift shop was sparse, and even though Callie had another pleasant conversation with the kid behind the counter, there wasn’t anything he had that they wanted. Callie sold him two cans of beans for next to nothing, which got her another angry look from Butch.

They bumped into MacCready again outside of the shop, and while he looked no less angry, Callie could tell that he liked them. She wondered if Wilks would have ended up in a place like this if she hadn’t found him.

“So, about this fungus.” Callie said as he led them past a sign that read Murder Pass.

“Yeah, you can trade if you want. Lucy said she liked you, and that’s good enough for me.” He said, shuffling along. Up ahead at the back gate, a sullen looking girl crossed her arms over her chest.

“Why are you walking around with mungos, R.J.?”

“They’re okay, Princess. We’re letting them through.” MacCready said, walking up a ramp to flip the gate switch.

“Okay. If they want to get eaten, I don’t care.” Princess said, looking unconcerned.

“Great. Can’t wait to see what’s past here.” Butch said, his hand over his pistol. 

“Good luck, Mungos. Try not to die.” Princess said sweetly, waving at them.

“Thanks, children. Play nice while we’re gone.” Callie said.

“Don’t talk down to us, shit-ass!” MacCready yelled after them as they walked away. Callie laughed, and she caught a hint of a smile on Butch’s face as well.

Murder Pass was aptly named. Almost immediately, they came across two super mutants that threatened to eat their arms. They found cover, and with Callie’s good aim, and Butch’s quick firing, they managed to take them out without problems. 

“Christ, all of this was right next to those kids?” Butch asked.

“So now you like the kids?” Callie teased.

“No, but I don’t want them to die. I’m not a monster.” Butch said. Callie passed him a plasma grenade, and he wound up and pitched it at another mutant that came running for them. As much as Callie was reluctant to admit it, Butch had the better throwing arm, particularly with anything remotely baseball shaped. The mutant fell to the ground dead as the grenade exploded. 

“You’re getting good at this.” Callie said, before firing her rifle at the next mutant.

“I was born good at this.” Butch said. He was still using way more ammo than Callie, but he was improving, and his mopey attitude from earlier was replaced by his standard overconfidence, which Callie knew was a good sign. They fought hard, and nearly activated two tripwires, but they finally made it to a shack door not unlike the outer door that led to Vault 101. 

Callie took a deep breath. “Ready?”

Butch nodded, and she opened the door. There was no massive vault door on the other side like the other two vaults Callie had seen, just another path leading to an average sliding door. Callie frowned.

“I have no idea what’s behind here.” Callie said, loading a fresh microfusion cell into her rifle. Butch reloaded as well. “Be careful.”

She expected a snarky comeback, but Butch just nodded again. She hit the door control, and a smell of rotten flesh hit them hard. It wasn’t as bad as the hospital, but it was wildly unpleasant. There was also a strong mildew smell, as if there had been a water leak.

“Fuck, fuck!” Butch yelled, backing away.

“What?” Callie asked, before she saw four radroaches skittering around the room. After their talk earlier, she didn’t mock him for his fear, but she also didn’t want to waste ammo. She stepped forward and stomped on two in succession. One came up and bit her pant leg, and she stomped that one as well. The fourth didn’t see her, and was crawling over a dead super mutant in the corner. It was stomped as well. Butch muttered a “thanks” and they kept going.

“There might be more of them.” Callie said.

“I’m ready now. I’ll get the next one.” Butch said. 

With the roaches dispatched, they had a look around the room. Everything was rusted over, and smears of dried blood covered the floor and walls. “Well, that’s unsettling.” Callie said, “I hope it isn’t all like this.” 

The smell only got worse as they progressed into a dim hallway, and it wasn’t long before they heard the heavy steps of another super mutant. They were ready, stepping backwards so they had as much time as possible to take it down before it could reach them with its sledgehammer.

“This is a brute. One of the big ones.” Callie said, kicking the body as they passed.

“You don’t think there’s gonna be a behemoth in here, do you?” Butch asked.

Callie smiled, “I doubt it. Even if there were, it wouldn’t fit in the hallway.”

“Okay, good.” Butch said. 

They kept going, and while they had a few very close calls, they managed to clear the main floor without injury. Callie sat down in front of a terminal as they paused to rest.

“I don’t understand. This was a locked vault, same as 101, but they kept dying. Look at this, look how many of them died from this unknown sickness.”

“Do you think it’ll affect us?” Butch asked, peering over her shoulder.

“I don’t think so. One report said there was something wrong with the filtration system, so maybe don’t go drinking the water.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t gonna do that.” Butch said, looking around at the blood and decay.

They continued up a set of stairs, and along another mutant filled corridor. They had developed a good fighting strategy in their time together, and barely needed to speak as they took out the many giants around them. Both out of breath, they found another working terminal in the vault clinic. Callie made sure the coast was clear before she looked through the files.

After skimming through terminal entries that didn’t make much sense, she came across something that made he audibly gasp.

“What, are you okay?” Butch asked, walking over to see what she was reading.

“They did this on purpose.” Callie whispered.

“Did what?”

“They infected people to... I don’t know make them stronger?” Callie said, scanning through the pages, and feeling more and more sick the more she read. “Another one of Vault-Tec’s experiments. This is horrible. Is this... oh my god, they made the super mutants.”

Butch read over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

Callie was still looking for answers, and finding more corrupted data than anything else. “It’s this.” She said, pointing at the screen. “The Forced Evolutionary Virus. It’s the source of the super mutants. These are all records of their experiments.” Her mouth hung open. She had gotten the idea that there were some nefarious doings at Vault-Tec, but this was beyond anything she could imagine.

Callie reread everything in the terminal again to make sure she understood. They’d seen gore bags and fresh human remains in the hallways. Is this where the super mutants were taking the people they’d kidnapped? Were they making more? It was too much, and too awful to dwell on. Not when they still had work to do. Callie tried to push all of that aside, and think about the task at hand. They still had no clue where to find the G.E.C.K. and the layout of Vault 87 was very different from 101. They had no choice but to keep going in the same direction. Callie would let the Brotherhood know what they’d seen. Maybe they could take a task force down here, hopefully without disturbing Little Lamplight.

“Test Chamber One.” Butch read. The door was locked, but it looked hackable. They looked through the window, and it was Butch’s turn to gasp. On an operating table, sat a mass of something that used to be human. Its face was warped and twisted in pain. Its muscles looked like they had burst through its skin and clothing. There was dried blood covering patches of exposed bone and teeth. “Was this the mutants or the vault people who did this?”

“I don’t know.” She said quietly. She didn’t know if she was more angry or horrified. She had a hard time tearing her eyes away from the monstrous failed experiment when they heard knocking on one of the windows at the end of the hall.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Please, help me.” A voice called. It had the same gruff tone as all the other super mutants, but this one sounded different. For one, Callie couldn’t remember ever hearing a super mutant say please. That and the fact that it was coming from another locked room made Callie pause.

“That was one of them, right?” Butch asked.

“I’m not sure.” Callie replied, clutching her rifle. “Let’s go find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Titles: Mac and Me, Young At Heart, The Boy-Mayor of Little Lamplight, The Heart of a Child, Fungus Among Us


	37. Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening: 
> 
> Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall - Ella Fitzgerald and The Inkspots  
> If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d Have Baked A Cake - Eileen Barton

“The name’s Fawkes. I’ve lived in this cage all my life.” 

Callie and Butch looked at each other, then back at the super mutant behind the glass window.

“I’m Callie, and this is Butch.” Callie replied. She looked at Butch again, who gave her a warning look.

“A pleasure to meet you. A pleasure to meet anyone who will speak to me.” Fawkes said, before laughing. The sound was alarming, but not as malicious as any of the others they’d met.

“I’ve never heard a super mutant speak the way you do.” Callie said. He held himself differently too, his movements were slow, controlled, not driven by instinct and rage.

“Neither have I, they are far too stupid.” He said, with another loud, gravelly laugh. “Super mutant.” He said, shaking his head. “I prefer Meta-Human over that vulgar term.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Meta-Human then.” Callie said sincerely.

“My captors were too foolish to realize that there’s a working terminal in this room.” Fawkes continued. “I taught myself language, history, culture, everything I could from the vault’s mainframe.”

“Why are you in here?” Callie asked.

“Because I’m a curiosity. A failed experiment. I don’t think they knew what to do with me, so they locked me away. I’ve been in here as long as I remember.”

Callie nodded. “If you’ve studied the vault’s mainframe, do you know where we could find the G.E.C.K?” 

“Yes!” He said, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes. I can take you there. I can even retrieve it for you. I only ask for one small favor.”

Callie nodded back. “Which is?”

“Let me out of here. I can’t remember not being in this small room, and I can’t take it. Please. Please take me with you.”

Butch reached out and pushed Callie’s hand away from the intercom. “This is a trap, right?”

Callie frowned. “I don’t think so. Why would they go to the trouble?”

“I don’t know. This place gives me the creeps, and maybe this is another part of that weird Vault-Tec experiment you were talking about. What if he turns on us?”

“Then we’ll be in no worse shape than we were. We’ll be careful, of course, but we can’t just leave him in there.”

Butch thought for a moment. “Okay, but I’m not turning by back on him.”

“Deal.” She said, pushing the button for the intercom again. “Okay, Fawkes, how do we get you out?”

Fawkes explained that there was a failsafe they could trip in a nearby room, and warned them that it would open all the doors. Butch still looked hesitant, but Callie decided it would be worth the risk. There were other super mutants down the hall, and after a hard fight, Callie had accessed the right machine to trigger the failsafe. An alarm sounded, and Callie grit her teeth at the attention that would bring. She quickly found a nearby terminal and was able to turn the alarm off, but she could already here movement out in the hall. She poked her head into the hall to see Fawkes pick up two centaurs and bash their heads together, killing them both.

“Well, I ain’t saying I’m convinced, but that’s a good start.” Butch said from behind her.

“Freedom!” Fawkes yelled, dropping the centaurs on the ground. “True freedom! Oh, my friends, this is a gift I will not squander.”

He walked up to Callie and pat her on the back, making her lurch forward. “Thanks, Pal.” She said with a wheeze.

“I apologize. You pure-humans are very small.” 

“So, the G.E.C.K?” Callie said, clearing her throat.

“Follow me.” Fawkes said, stopping to pick up a dead super mutant’s super sledge. “The G.E.C.K. is in a highly irradiated chamber, luckily, I am immune to radiation, so you won’t have to die trying to reach it.”

“Glad to hear it.” Callie said. Butch still looked wary, but Callie could couldn’t blame him. Super mutants were unpredictable, and with her experience she knew it would be foolish to trust Fawkes completely, but Callie’s instincts usually served her well, and they told her to give him a chance. He was so different from the others, and he was helping them. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with him once they got out of the vault, but she would have to worry about that later.

They encountered many more mutants down the hall, which they managed to fight off without much trouble. Fawkes killed three for every one Callie and Butch took out.

“Did you get hit?” Callie asked, as Fawkes rubbed his shoulder.

He laughed. “It takes more than one little bullet to break the skin. Look.” He held out his arm to her, and she felt his upper arm. His skin was tough, like hard leather.

“Interesting.” Callie said, giving him his arm back. She was about to say more, but another super mutant was coming towards them. Butch caught this one, blasting his laser pistol again and again until it fell.

“You are quite capable warriors.” Fawkes said approvingly.

“It’s a tough world out there. Your strength will come in handy, but super- I mean, meta humans are feared and hunted. It might take a while for people to warm up to you.” Callie said, as they continued down the hall.

“I have expected this. I’ve seen my brethren take their captives past my room. I know the horrors of which they are capable. I know that I may not be accepted by anyone in the outside world.”

Callie smiled up at him. She wanted to tell him that she had felt the same way coming out of the vault, but she knew how wildly different their experiences were, and how stupid that would have sounded to him. Instead, she just told him that they’d work something out.

They turned yet another corner. The lights in this part of the vault were green instead of red. Callie’s pipboy began to tick. She reached for her pack and took out two doses of Rad-X. “We’re getting close.” She said as she injected herself and then Butch.

“Yes. Any further and I don’t think you’ll be feeling too well.” Fawkes said. “Keep watch, my friends. I think we’ve cleared the space, but be careful.”

Fawkes lumbered into the next room, which was indeed too irradiated for Callie and Butch. Callie watched him pass through a heavy door and into a room she couldn’t see. She held her breath and avoided looking at Butch, who was reloading his gun. If Fawkes was going to turn on them, now would probably be the time.

Thankfully, after a few minutes, Fawkes returned holding a metal briefcase with GECK written across the side.

“That’s it?” Butch asked.

“That’s it. Thank you.” Callie said, taking it carefully from Fawkes. The radiation made her hand tingle as she touched it, and her pipboy protested, but the Rad level was manageable. She took a deep breath. This little briefcase was the key to finishing her father’s work. “This is the most valuable thing any of us will ever see.” She whispered.

“What do you plan to do with it?” Fawkes asked.

Callie smiled, feeling more emotional than she expected. “We’re going to save the world.” She said. There was a rusty table nearby. Callie took off her pack, wrapped the G.E.C.K. in a sweater, and placed it carefully inside the bag.

The three of them started back the way they’d come. The halls were silent now, and Callie felt wave after wave of relief. They might actually pull this off. She wondered how the brotherhood would react to Fawkes, or if she’d have to hide him from them. She led them down the hallways, deep in thought. Fawkes walked slowly, and Butch was staying behind him. When she reached the next door she realized they were quite a bit behind her. 

“Hurry up, slow pokes.” She said with a smile, before hitting the control panel for the door. As soon as she entered the room, something felt wrong. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and the door closed behind her as a small metal canister landed at her feet. There was a bright flash, and before she knew what was happening she fell to the ground. Her limbs were stiff and paralyzed, and all she could do was watch as two Enclave guards walked towards her.

“Objective is secure, Sir.” One of them said. Okay, so they weren’t going to shoot her on site, that was something. Then she heard footsteps of someone who wasn’t wearing power armor. A man in a long, tan coat came into view, and Callie found herself at the feet of a man she thought was dead. Colonel Autumn.

Oh no. No, no, no. Her eyes widened. She tried to speak but her words caught in her throat. The paralysis was spreading, and it was getting hard to take a deep breath. Despite her immobility, her heart was beating fast in her ears.

“You’re certain she’s unharmed?” Autumn said, crouching down to smile smugly at her.

Callie’s vision was already cloudy, but she heard the guard say something about reviving her later. She tried to speak again but found it even more difficult. Even her fear and anger was now numbed by whatever they’d done to her. 

“Prepare her for transport immediately.” Autumn said, and the world went dark.


	38. The Rock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> If I Didn’t Care - The Inkspots  
> When I Get Low I Get High - Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb

A twelve-and-a-half year old Callie Elliot paced back and forth in the back office of Vault 101’s clinic, waiting. After five long minutes, her father finally walked in.

“You named me after a monster!” She yelled as soon as the door closed behind him.

James looked down at her curiously. “What on earth makes you say that?”

“We’re studying The Iliad and the Odyssey, and we just got to the part where Calypso kidnaps Odysseus and holds him hostage away from Penelope.” Callie said, still pacing.

“Oh, Sweetie-” James started, but Callie wasn’t finished.

“Is that why you named me Calypso? ‘Cause I... kept you away from your wife?” She blinked against the tears that were threatening to fall.

James pulled up a chair, and motioned for Callie to sit across from him. “No. That’s not it at all. Come sit down.” He said gently. Callie hesitated, before slumping into the second chair. She crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation. After a moment of thought, James spoke again.

“Clean water was... very important to your mother.” He said, looking at his own hands instead of Callie. “She worked very hard to make sure the water we drink was safe for everyone in the vault. You remember her favorite passage from Revelations?”

Callie nodded. “I remember.” 

“Your name was her idea. She wanted to give you a strong name, that reminded her of her passion, and Calypso was a water nymph. That’s all. Honestly, I wanted to name you after my own mother, but Catherine wouldn’t have it.”

Callie felt her hurt melt away. Her father never spoke about his past, and spoke about her mother even less frequently. She knew how painful it was for him, and usually didn’t press. “What was your mom’s name?”

“Gertrude.”

Callie couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Okay, so it could have been worse.”

James laughed and looked at her fondly. “You know, if you had been a boy she wanted to name you Triton.”

“Triton! How could anyone do that to a kid?” Callie said, letting her arms relax.

James looked mildly offended. “I liked that one. It would have been Tony for short.” he said, which made Callie let out another laugh. James studied her. “Are they giving you grief again.”

She looked away. “Yeah.”

“Should I have another talk with Mr. Broach?”

Callie shrugged. “Didn’t do any good the last time.”

James sighed. “Those little... I’m sorry. I wish there were more I could do.” He looked thoughtful again. “Perhaps it’s time I taught you to box.”

 

When nineteen-and-a-half year old Callie’s eyes opened, she found herself restrained. She was held in a standing position by her wrists, which were shackled to a metal bar at her back. A blue force field swirled around her, and just beyond that, stood Colonel Autumn.

She blinked at him, still feeling groggy. “You’re dead.” She said in a low voice.

Colonel Autumn gave her a tight smile. “Oh, I think you’ll find I’m very much alive. Now, let’s keep this nice and simple-”

“No...” Callie said, glaring. “You’re DEAD!” she snarled, flexing her arms against her restraints.

“Now now, you’re in no position to be making threats, are you?” he said with a sneer. “As I was saying, you’re going to tell me the code to start that purifier, and I might even let you walk out of here unharmed.”

“Fuck you.” Callie said, holding his gaze. She didn’t know what code he was talking about, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. She saw his jaw clench before he cleared his throat.

“I have no time for games, young lady. Now tell me that code, or it’ll cost you. And believe you me, it’ll cost you dearly.”

A hundred thoughts ran through Callie’s head. There were so many things she wanted to say. She’d seen that damn coat in her dreams too many times. She’d imagined endless scenarios where she paid the Enclave back for what they’d taken from her, but she’d never imagined she’d see Colonel Autumn alive again. Now, face to face with the man responsible for her father’s death, she found there was nothing to say. Nothing would change what had happened, nothing would bring her father back, and nothing in the world would make her tell him the code for the purifier, even if she had known what it was. 

“No, seriously. Fuck you.” she said, smiling smugly at him. She wasn’t stupid, she had seen what this man was capable of, but it didn’t matter. If her father was willing to die to keep the purifier out of the hands of the Enclave, then she was resolved do the same.

Autumn’s nostrils flared. He drew a gun and stepped towards her when a small blue camera on the wall behind him moved. A familiar voice came through an intercom. “Colonel... I have need of you.”

“Mr. President, I have no time for this.” Colonel Autumn said.

“Now, Colonel...” President Eden’s voice said again. Autumn shot her one last angry look, before walking out the door.

The president was talking to her now, but she couldn’t focus on anything until Autumn was out of sight. 

“I’d like to have a word with you, face-to-face. There are a few things you and I should discuss.” Eden was saying. “You’ll find your possessions in the locker by the door. I’ll unlock the way for you.” There was a hiss, before her the shackles clicked open and the force field dropped. Callie rubbed her wrists, and was relieved to find that she had full control of her limbs again. “I’ll be waiting for you in my office. Please don’t tarry.”

She stepped forward, eyeing the camera, before opening the locker by the door. Her pack and rifle had been shoved inside. The only thing missing was the G.E.C.K. She still had her pistol at her hip, so she could only assume the colonel hadn’t planned on letting her go after they’d had their little chat. Three stimpaks, ten full microfusion cells, and a handful of bullets for her pistol. It would have to be enough. She was feeling sore and tired, and after a moment of thought, she injected one of the stimpaks. She would need to be at her best to get through this.

She poked her head outside the room, rifle in hand, and was stopped immediately by a guard. He nearly didn’t let her pass until he contacted Eden, who chastised him. Callie guessed this was a show of good faith for her, but so long as she could keep moving, she didn’t care. Neither Autumn or Eden had mentioned her friends, and she had to assume that they hadn’t been brought with her. A voice in her head told her they may have already been killed, but she knew that the panic that came with that train of thought would overtake her if she dwelled on it, so she tightened her grip on her rifle and kept moving. Eden’s voice came through the speaker again, informing everyone to let her pass. She nodded smugly at the next soldier she passed, who kept his gun trained on her until she was out of sight. 

All the hallways looked the same, and she wasn’t about to stop and ask for directions. She felt awful enough just being in this place, whatever it was. “Ah, ah, ah. Not that way.” Eden’s voice warned her as she tried the path to her right. As she thought, she was still being watched. She turned left and continued on. Up ahead, she saw several large upright water tanks. The first few were empty, but in the distance, she could see one with a large figure inside.

“Oh no.” She whispered, hurrying as much as she dared towards the tank. She breathed a sigh of relief when she got close and realized that the dead super mutant inside was clearly not Fawkes. Still, what the hell were they doing here? There were two more tanks occupied by dead ghouls, and lab equipment strewn over the tables. 

She knew she couldn’t stay in one place for long, so she continued, pausing only for a moment when she saw a very basic map of the facility. Raven Rock. She’d heard of it from the Brotherhood, and she felt a little better knowing she was still in the Capital Wasteland.

She made it up to the next level before Autumn’s voice came over the loudspeaker. The fully armored solder at the end of the hall stopped to listen as Callie walked past. By the time Autumn had announced that he was overriding Eden’s order, and that Callie should be shot on sight, Callie had her rifle trained on the solder.

“Put the weapon down.” Callie said firmly. The soldier nodded and placed his rifle on the ground. Callie backed up slowly, as the adrenaline in her system, which had started to ebb, began pumping through her veins again. One down, she thought, as she got past the guard and into the next long hallway. The next movement she saw was of a sentry bot, which turned its guns not on Callie, but on a large group of soldiers. Okay then, so there was definitely trouble in the ranks, but she was shocked that the president would sacrifice so many of his own men for her. What the hell was going on here? Stepping over the fallen soldiers, she continued at a fast pace up to the next level as gunfire erupted behind her again.

With no helpful voice to tell her if she was going the right way, Callie started feeling lost. “This place is a fucking maze.” She muttered to herself, before nearly running right into two soldiers who were running around the next corner. She fired first, and felt the heat of the returning plasma fire pass close enough to her face to singe her hair. The first soldier dropped their weapon and staggered forward. Callie grabbed the front of their armor, using it as a shield. The other soldier didn’t hesitate and fired, and Callie let go quickly as the soldier in front of her dissolved into goo, but not before the plasma burned the palm of her left hand. She fired through the melting armor, incapacitating the second soldier. Once she was out of immediate danger, she injected the second stimpak, which quickly brought the pain in her hand down to a manageable level.

They kept coming, and while she was happy for once to have bots and turrets on her side, the sheer numbers were terrifying. Callie stumbled into another lab, this one had ghouls, half disected, on surgery tables. She found a lab coat, which she put on overtop of her clothes, and a grey Enclave hat. She knew that whatever she did, she would stick out like a sore thumb, but she had to try. “I don’t die here.” She whispered to herself, ducking to avoid the next assault. “I don’t die here.”

After what had seemed like far more than the hour it took to get through the base, Callie found herself at the top level, facing another room full of dead soldiers and very active sentry bots. “The president is waiting for you.” One of them said.

“Yeah, thanks.” Callie said, out of breath. She walked past the bots and into an inner chamber. She had expected an office, not a large room full of servers. She walked up the stairs and found herself alone in front of a massive computer.

“Ah, face to face at last.” The computer said, in Eden’s voice. 

Callie sighed and shook her head. “Alright, sure. Why not.”


	39. Exodus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening: 
> 
> As Time Goes By - Billie Holiday   
> Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off - The Ink Spots

“You must understand, we need to clear the way for humanity to rebuild the wastes.” Eden said. Callie had been listening to him for five minutes now, going on and on about the horrors of war and mutation. A small hatch opened in front of her, exposing a small tube. “With this, we could eliminate all mutations in the Wasteland at the same time, the good people of the world regain their health.”

Callie frowned at the vial. “What is it?”

“What you see before you is a vial of modified FEV virus.” Eden said. Callie laughed, interrupting him.

“I just came from Vault 87. I’ve seen what this virus can do, and I’m not touching it.”

Eden waited a moment. When she didn’t say anything else, he continued. “All you’ll need to do is insert the vial into the main console of the purifier, which will inject it into the water supply.”

“And poison the water supply. What makes you think I’d do a thing like that?” Callie asked, removing the lab coat she’d acquired on the floor below. The room was hot, and she’d just run through the entire facility.

“You would only be poisoning creatures who have already been altered by mutation. Please understand that this is of the utmost importance. I cannot allow you to leave until you’ve taken the vial.”

Callie took a step away, looking at the nearby door, which was locked. “But it’s not just super mutants and feral ghouls who are affected by mutation. It’s the majority of the people living out in the wastes. You’re talking about genocide.”

“I understand that you may have become sympathetic to certain individuals in your travels, individuals who would indeed be eliminated.” Eden said in a condescending tone. “But you must recognize that the fate of our entire country rests on this plan. There’s a bright future ahead of us, my young friend.”

“With the FEV virus?” Callie asked flatly.

“A highly modified FEV virus. A far cry from what you would have seen in any vault. The virus in this vial will cause the eradication of all mutations.”

Callie frowned. This line of questioning was getting her nowhere. “And you, what are you exactly?”

“I am a ZAX automated computer system. My terminal was originally installed to oversee this facility and to act as a relay between other installations, but over time, my awareness grew. I became hungry for knowledge and understanding. After studying many great leaders, my personality became an amalgam of many of America’s greatest Presidents, from Washington to Richardson.”

“But what’s the point of this? Why kill off so many?”

“I desire nothing more than to see this country returned to it’s former glory. The United States was great once, and it can be again. With your help, this can happen within your lifetime, but sacrifices must be made for the sake of the greater good.”

Callie pointed at the screen, anger growing in her stomach. “This is wrong. This whole thing is wrong.”

“Is it, now? How so.” Came the condescending drawl.

“You said you ‘became aware’ over time, right? And that your personality is based off of former presidents, who based on the state of the world, weren’t always right. How can you be so sure that this is the right decision for the country?”

“Because unlike humans, I am infallible.” 

Callie shook her head. “That’s not an answer. How are you infallible, then?” 

He paused. “Because I’m programed to be, of course.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “Even if that wasn’t circular logic, which it is, your infallible programming was installed before the war. The world is different now. People are different now.”

“Processing.” Eden said. Callie didn’t know what that meant, so she continued.

“Look, I grew up in a vault. I thought I knew what life was supposed to be like, but now that I’m out here, I know know that the world is nothing like what I’d been taught. There are so many different ways of living, so many ways of being happy, and you want to take that away from anyone who’s been exposed to a lot of radiation? That’s pretty much anyone who was born out in the wastes. That’s all the ghouls, any kids who played to close to a bomb, and I’m guessing the entire town of Megaton. I might not be infallible, but I guarantee you that killing off anyone you decide is “impure” is the last thing that’s going to bring glory to America.”

“...internal logic error detected.” The voice said. 

“And with all due respect, Mr. President, you’re in no better position than I am to decide what makes a person pure.” She said, glaring at the monitor. 

“..Resetting primary memory circuits. Please stand by...”

Callie crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

“...Perhaps, perhaps there is a problem. I am.. unsure how to proceed.” 

He did sound uncertain. Had what she said really made a difference? She nodded at him. “You need to stop this. This whole operation is hurting people. Please, just shut it down.”  
“Analyzing command.” Eden’s voice said. “New course of action dictated. Self-destruct sequence initialized.”

“Wait, what?”

“Civilian is advised to secure hazardous FEV material to prevent explosive decompression.”

“Explosive... wait, slow down.” Callie said, suddenly feeling a new, and entirely different type of panic than before.

“Civilian is advised to evacuate complex immediately.”

“Stop. Eden? Mr. President?” Callie said. There were no buttons to push on the monitors in front of her, and he didn’t seem to be responding to her at all now. She carefully took the FEV vial, and carefully wrapped it in the same sweater that had held the G.E.C.K. earlier that day. Whatever it was inside, she didn’t want it infecting anyone, Enclave or otherwise. In the distance, she heard the first explosion. She hoisted her bag onto her back, checked her rifle, and left by the door opposite the monitor.

A second explosion rocked the facility, this time so close she could feel the floor shake. She sprinted down a hallway towards where Enclave troops were fighting against turrets. “This place is gonna blow. Get out of here!” Callie yelled. The soldiers turned their weapons in her direction, but were gunned down by the turrets before they could fire. 

“This isn’t what I meant, Eden!” Callie yelled, before running down the hall. She had a better sense of where she was going, but still wasn’t sure of her way out. Up ahead, three soldiers were running away rather than towards her. She decided to trust their sense of self-preservation and followed at a distance. 

Another explosion, this one so close she could see fire when she looked behind her. She picked up the pace. If the soldiers were stupid enough to attack her now, then the Enclave had hired bigger idiots than she’d thought. She caught up to them, and while one of them shot her a dirty look, they said nothing. Up ahead, she heard a roar. Callie had seen a deathclaw inside one of their strange tanks, but it sounded a lot closer than the labs downstairs. She picked up her speed again, her breathing ragged as she ran. She veered to her left, and the turret fire started up again. 

By the time she found a way out, she was on her own again. She cranked the wheel of the large door, and pulled hard until it swung open. She ran up a set of stairs and down another, finally landing on the dirt ground. She heard her name, and looked around. Up ahead, looking as relieved to see her as she was him, was Butch. Behind him, Fawkes mowed down two approaching soldiers with a massive mini gun.

“Callie!” Butch repeated, a smile on his face now. He had a black cloth wrapped around his head, and dried blood just above his left eye. “This place is coming down, what the hell did you do?”

Before she could answer, a nearly deafening explosion rocked the ground. She looked back and watched as a fireball engulfed the top part of the building, where she’d spoken to Eden. Fawkes let out a loud, gruff laugh.

“My friend, we’ve found you at last!” He said, “We were able to follow, but not fast enough to help. However, it looks like you had everything well in hand.”

“I thought...” Callie started, hands on her knees, gasping for breath, “I thought they might have captured you. I thought I’d left you back there.”

Butch nodded. “No, we’re fine. Shit, man, you scared me.” He turned and fired at another group of soldiers. He’d picked up a plasma pistol, and was using that and his laser pistol. They flanked Callie, covering her so she could catch her breath and regroup. After her hands stopped shaking, Callie hefted her rifle to her shoulder and joined in the fight.

“Nice toy you got there, Fawkes!” Callie yelled over the sound of the mini gun.

“A most fascinating one! Imagine the evil I could destroy with this.” He said with another laugh.

“Good, ‘cause if you’re game, we’ve got a big fight coming.” Callie said. The combination of relief and exhaustion made her feel shaky and not so much that if affected her aim. She took out a group soldiers who piled out of a vertibird to attack. Up above, three more flew over, heading south. She wondered if Autumn had made it out. Knowing him, she guessed he had.

“I would be honored to fight alongside a hero such as yourself.” Fawkes said. “Shall we get away before the next-”

Another huge explosion. Callie didn’t need to be told twice. She led them out past a broken down fence, away from Raven Rock and back out into the dust of the wasteland. At a safe distance, she turned back to look. There was little left of the facility, and there was so much smoke that she bet they’d be able to see it from the citadel. It was time to head back there. It was time to take back the purifier.


	40. Battle Meditation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening: 
> 
> I’ll Make Up For Everything - The Ink Spots  
> Top Hat, White Tie and Tails - Fred Astaire

It was a long way from Raven Rock to the Citadel. After an hour of walking, Callie had them stop and rest in an abandoned house. Fawkes was amazed at everything around them, pausing often to examine his new surroundings. Callie knew they needed to press on, but she figured she wouldn’t be much good if she collapsed from exhaustion. She set her pip-boy timer for forty-five minutes and sat down on a very dusty couch. Fawkes stomped around the house, looking at everything he touched with wonder. 

“I can’t imagine what this must be like for you.” Callie said to him, stretching her sore legs out in front of her. “We grew up in a vault too, but we weren’t confined to one room.”

“It is overwhelming,” Fawkes said, carefully picking up a pre-war book after knocking over two others, “but it’s wonderful.”

Callie smiled at him, then motioned to Butch to join her on the couch. “Let me take a look at your head.”

“It’s not bad.” Butch said, but he walked to the couch anyway, unravelling the piece of shirt he’d wrapped around his forehead before sitting down. 

“No. It won’t need stitches.” Callie said, looking closely at the cut above his eyebrow. “You’ve already used a stimpak, haven’t you?” 

The wound was already knitting together, and Callie reminded herself that Butch needed a first aid kit of his own. “Yeah. It’s not big, but it bled a lot.” Butch said. 

“Head wounds will do that.” Callie said as she went to work cleaning and dressing the cut. “There you are. Right as rain.” She said, once finished.

“You sound like your dad.” Butch said. Callie froze, and he cringed. “Sorry.”

“No that’s... that’s not a bad thing.” Callie said quietly.

“We’re really gonna do this, huh?” Butch asked, lowering his voice as well.

“I am. You don’t have to.” She replied. “I mean, you know you’re not obliged-”

“I know. I’m with you, I am. But I don’t know...” He looked away, “When it comes down to it, when Autumn was talking to you, you told me you were ready to die for this. I’m not sure if I am.”

Callie nodded. “I’m not asking you to.”

“I mean, I’ll do everything I can, but...”

“But you’re scared. So am I.” 

He raised his eyebrows, wincing slightly at the pain. “Yeah?”

“Of course. I don’t know what, if any, resources Elder Lyons is going to spare. Even if the whole Brotherhood goes with us, it’s still going to be fuckin’ dangerous. And I don’t want to die. I don’t. I will do everything I can to get that purifier working, but there’s a lot more out of life that I want, and I’m not going to give it up if there’s any other option.

“Good.” Butch whispered. They sat on the couch a while longer, before Callie got up to stretch. It was two o’clock in the morning when Callie’s alarm beeped. She’d changed clothes, downed two bottles of water, and used the less-than-pleasant facilities. She was still exhausted, but less so than before.

They left the old house and continued on, stopping occasionally to explain things to Fawkes, who marveled at the scale of the buildings they passed as they grew closer to downtown. Callie couldn’t help glancing behind her at the still smoking remains of Raven Rock. 

Before they arrived at the Citadel, Callie stopped. “So... I’m not sure if they’re even going to let you in, Butch, much less Fawkes. I’ll explain, and tell them the whole story, but I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Fawkes nodded. “I understand why such prejudices exist. Other Meta Humans are not as friendly to your kind.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” Butch said. “Why don’t I stay out here with the big guy. You’re better with talking anyway.”

“Okay. Be careful.” Callie said, nodding at both of them before walking around the corner and approaching the building.

“I need to talk to Elder Lyons, it’s about the purifier.” Callie told the guard at the door.

“You’ve been granted access, Callie. You can come and go as you please.” She said. 

“Good. Thanks.” She said. She walked into the base. There were a few people around, but far fewer than during the day. She went to the lab first, and found Scribe Rothchild and Elder Lyons talking next to the feet of the giant robot.

“Oh good, you’re here.” She said. “We have to get going as soon as possible.”

“Slow down, my dear.” Rothchild said, “What happened. Do you have the G.E.C.K?”

She shook her head. “They took it from me. Colonel Autumn was alive, probably still is. The G.E.C.K.’s being installed now, they just need the code.”

From a nearby room, out walked Sarah Lyons. She wasn’t wearing armor, but she did have a very large gun in her arms. “They have the G.E.C.K. Will that convince you?” She asked, looking at her father instead of Callie.

“Yes. You have your wish, Sarah. We must go to the purifier at once. Prepare the Pride, we mobilize in one hour.”

“Thank you.” Callie said, letting out a breath of relief. Elder Lyons nodded, but he wasn’t finished giving orders.

“Scribe Rothchild, is it ready? We’ll need all the firepower we can get.”

“No! Sir, we haven’t even begun field testing. The power problems have been solved, but-”

“Enough, can we make it work?” Lyons said, looking up at Liberty Prime. Despite the seriousness of the situation, a smile was slowly growing on Callie’s face.

“I honestly don’t know, but I think we can scrape by.” Rothchild said, looking exasperated. “I have to go speak with Dr. Li.”

Elder Lyons took that as a yes, and after a few more words to the people around him, he walked off. Sarah Lyons looked happy about this decision, and pulled Callie aside.

“Thank you. I’ve been trying to get him to do this all day. I want you to know- wait, what?” Sarah said, stopping herself when she noticed the curious look she was getting from Callie.

“Nothing, I just.. I didn’t realize I was taller than you.” Callie said. Without the power armor, Sarah looked half her size, and stood about an inch shorter than Callie.

Sarah frowned, and straightened up. “Not the first time I’ve heard that. Anyway, my father and I have been talking, and with everything you’ve done, we want to make you an honorary member of the Lyons Pride.”

“Wow, really? I wasn’t expecting that.” Callie said, genuinely surprised. “Thanks, Sentinel.”

Sarah nodded, already looking past her to the flurry of activity that had started around them. “There are a few perks. We can outfit you with either a set of power armor, or a recon suit.”

“Recon sounds more my style. I’m still too clunky in the full armor.”

“This way.” Sarah said, motioning for Callie to follow.

“There are a couple other things I need to talk to you about.” Callie said, following Sarah’s quick pace.

“So long as you can walk and talk.” Sarah said. She passed the large gun to one of the scientists as they left the lab and headed for the soldiers quarters.

Callie paused. “You’re not using that thing?”

“The Tesla Cannon? No. It’s not ready yet. I’m disappointed too, but I don’t like to carry anything into battle if there’s a chance it’ll explode in my hands.”

“Seems like a good policy. So.. I uh, have a friend outside, who happens to be a super mutant.”

Sarah looked at her sharply. “What?”

“Vault 87 has super mutants with access to the FEV. It’s where they’ve been taking the people they kidnap there and turning them into new mutants. It’s where they’ve all been coming from.”

Sarah shook her head as she walked. “Jesus. Any other day, and I’d be planning an assault, but astoundingly, we have bigger problems right now.”

“They’ve been doing this for years, but it seems like one of the oldest experiments was a hyper intelligent super mutant that they imprisoned. His name is Fawkes, and he wants to help us.”

Sarah stopped and closed her eyes. “You’re saying there’s a super mutant standing outside the citadel who wants to help us fight the Enclave?”

“Butch is with him. I can vouch for him. He won’t hurt anyone, but I don’t want your people shooting him.” Callie said firmly.

“I’ll get the word out. Was there anything else?” Sarah asked.

Callie put a hand on her pack, pulling it off her shoulder and holding up a hand before Sarah started walking again. “I don’t know a lot about the Brotherhood of Steel. I’ve heard a lot of different things from a lot of people-”

“And?” Sarah said, sounding impatient.

“And while I don’t know your people, I know you well enough now that I know you’ll do the right thing with this.” Callie said, removing the vial Eden gave her and holding it out.

“What is it?”

“It’s a modified FEV that could wipe out half the wasteland. Eden wanted me to install it in the purifier.”

Sarah hesitated, then took the vial. “Thank you, for trusting me with this. I’ll make sure it’s destroyed safely.”

“Good. Thank you.” Callie said, feeling as if a very heavy weight had been lifted. 

“Now come on, let’s get you suited up.”

The recon armor wasn’t exactly Callie’s style, but she pulled it on anyway. It was bulky, but far less so than power armor. She cut off the left sleeve at the elbow with her combat knife to accommodate her pipboy, then, for symmetry, cut off the right sleeve as well. The helmet was uncomfortable, so she traded it for her leather raiders helmet with the pigtails. Finally, she pulled the metal shoulder plates off of the armor and spent ten minutes attaching them to her tunnel snakes jacket by cutting a few small holes in the jacket and looping metal wire through to secure them. She put the jacket on, admiring the final product in a small, cracked mirror in one of the Brotherhood’s washrooms. 

 

Once they’d finished changing, Sarah showed Callie where she could replenish her medical supplies. She filled her first aid kit, and tucked as many stimpaks and ammunition into her pockets as would fit. When they walked back out into the courtyard, Callie felt stronger. Sarah was back to her usual wide, metallic attire, and while she had eyed Callie’s leather helmet, she didn’t comment. They looked up to see the Brotherhood’s large crane haul Liberty Prime up and out of the lab and place him just outside the citadel.

“Holy shit, look at him!” Callie said with a grin.

“Here’s hoping it doesn’t explode on us.” Sarah said seriously, before turning to the group of soldiers, including the Pride, who had gathered by the outer door. “Okay, listen up, one last time!’ She shouted. The soldiers stood at attention. “The Pride is with me, we’re on fire support for the robot. It’s the only weapon we have that can take down those energy shields, so we’re going to keep its path clear, and get it where it needs to go, which is Project Purity. Everyone else, you have your orders. Supporting fire along the route, but your priority is keeping the robot safe. Once we get to the purifier, keep them occupied while we secure the control room. We’re escorting Callie, who you all know by now. She has a friend, and a super mutant with her. You are not to fire on this super mutant. He’ll be given one of our banners to distinguish him from the others, but he is not hostile.”

“Like Uncle Leo.” One of the soldiers said.

“Who?” Sarah asked, but there was no response. She turned to Callie and handed her the large Brotherhood banner she held. “Anything you want to add?”

Callie heard someone whisper the words Lone Wanderer as she stepped forward. Of all the nicknames to stick, she thought. “The Enclave is ruthless. They’ll do everything they can to keep control over the purifier, including poisoning the entire water supply. My father believed in this cause.” She paused to clear her throat, “to deliver clean water for everyone in the wasteland. I believe we can get this done today.”

“Yes. Let’s get it done.” Sarah repeated, nodding at the guard at the gate, who raised the large door. Outside the citadel, Callie headed to the right and spotted Butch peaking from around the corner. She waved to him and jogged over as he and Fawkes approached.

“I brought you a scarf.” Callie said, holding out the banner to Fawkes. “So they don’t shoot you.”

“Thank you.” Fawkes said, pulling the grey banner over his shoulders and tying the ends across his chest like a cape. He picked up his mini gun, and walked over with Callie to the group. “Greetings.” He said. The soldiers looked uneasy, but they didn’t turn on him. A couple of them even nodded in his direction.

“You know it’s not too late, you can still change your mind.” Butch said as they came to stand next to Sarah. 

Callie looked grimly towards the first energy field. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I meant about the hat.” Butch said. Callie shot him a look, but couldn’t help but smile. On her other side, she heard a short, high-pitched laugh that surprisingly had come from Sarah. 

“Shut up, both of you.” Callie said, adjusting the offending hat. “Let’s go save the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forty chapters over a year is not too shabby if I do say so myself. Thanks for reading. We ain't done yet.


	41. The Longest Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag - The Robert Mandell Singers  
> Daddy’s Little Girl - The Mills Brothers

The firefight was intense. Bullets flew by their heads and explosions rocked the streets as they slowly advanced. The only thing keeping Callie from panicking was the giant form of Liberty Prime, who obliterated everything in his path. Sarah led her team effectively, and shouted orders and encouragement as they reached the first barrier. 

“Probability of mission hinderance: Zero Percent.” Liberty Prime said as the first barrier exploded. They had to brace themselves as they ran across, following the robot as close as they dared without being stepped on. The bridge shook from the explosions, but they were making headway. On Callie’s right, stood Butch, looking determined and firing a powerful pistol in each hand. On her left, Fawkes unleashed a sea of bullets from his mini gun. The Lyons Pride moved in a well-practiced formation around them, hollering and laughing as loud as Callie every time Liberty Prime fired his weapons.

“The last domino falls here.” Liberty Prime said, as his lasers hit another vertibird.

“Holy shit!” Callie yelled as the vertibird crashed into an Enclave outpost, clearing the way. 

“This way, Brothers! The end’s in sight!” Sarah said. They could see the Jefferson Memorial now, but the Enclave forces were swarming around it. Even in the dead of night, the force fields and fire made it bright enough to see without having to use a Pipboy light.

“There’s just so fuckin’ many.” Butch said as they saw a squadron of Enclave troops gather near the shields. 

“We can make it.” Sarah said as she passed them to stand at the front of the charge.

Butch smiled at Callie and shrugged. “Okay then.” He said, before reloading his plasma pistol. Callie smiled back. She was tired and scared, but she couldn’t stop now. They pressed on across the last bridge to the final barrier. The soldiers on the other side had guns trained on them, waiting for the shield to fall. Liberty Prime grabbed the metal supports on either side of the barrier and pulled. Sparks erupted around him, and he fell to his knees with a loud clang that shook the bridge. Callie gasped, but after a moment, he stood up and immediately shot the two vertibirds that were parked out front of the memorial.

The Pride didn’t waste any time charging in and firing on what was left of the Enclave’s forces. Callie followed, her companions right behind her. She fired three shots with her plasma rifle at one of the smoking vertibirds, causing an explosion that sent three Enclave officers flying. From behind Callie, she heard Butch swear again. She looked back and found him on one knee.

“You hit?” She asked, moving towards him.

Butch indicated his left calf. “It’s not bad, keep going.”

Callie hesitated. “We need to get inside.”

“I’m fine.” Butch said, a stimpak already in his hand. “Go, Callie. I’m fine.”

Callie hesitated, then looked up at Fawkes. “Protect him. Please.”

“You have my word.” Fawkes said, standing almost directly over Butch and resuming fire. Callie shot one last look at Butch, who smiled through gritted teeth, before she caught up to Sarah and the Pride.

“I’m going inside.” Sarah yelled to her team. “Vargas, you know what to do. Kodiak and Gallows, with me and Callie.”

“You got it, Commander.” Paladin Vargas said, before turning to the Pride and barking his own orders.

Callie followed Sarah into in the purifier. It was full of Enclave soldiers, same as the last time she was there, but she felt a sense of resolute calm she wasn’t expecting. Maybe she was just so far beyond panic, or maybe she just knew exactly what needed to be done, but she found it easier than she’d thought to walk down the memorial’s hallways.

There were Enclave soldiers camped out behind some sandbags down the left hall. Sarah ordered her two men to stay there and hold them off as she and Callie made it to the rotunda. Callie pulled the door open as Sarah stood behind her, waiting to fire on whatever was waiting for them. Callie saw Enclave armor, and Sarah fired four shots, killing both armored soldiers, and leaving Colonel Autumn standing alone with his pistol, waiting for them. Callie approached him slowly, her rifle aimed for his head. Autumn chuckled. “You again. I should have known. Your ilk-” 

Callie continued her approach. “Why should I listen to anything you have to say?” She said, her voice low and with a slight shake.

Autumn scoffed. “So be it.” He raised his pistol, but Callie was faster and, without hesitation, shot him in the face. He slumped to the ground. Callie stepped towards his body, breathing hard. She had to know for sure. Stepping cautiously forward, she kicked the body, but there was no doubt. He was dead. 

Sarah walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. “I would have done exactly the same thing.”

Callie nodded, and looked up at the purifier. Was it over? Did they win? From up the stairs, Dr. Li’s voice came through the console. Sarah ran up to answer. Callie stayed below, staring at Autumn’s lifeless body. It was hard to place how she felt. While it didn’t feel good, killing someone like that, it definitely hadn’t felt bad. She took one last look at the body before slowly climbing the stairs to join Sarah at the console.

“...I’m afraid there are lethal levels of radiation inside the chamber. I’m sorry. I wish there was some other way but there’s just no time. It has to be turned on now, or the damage will be catastrophic.” Dr. Li’s voice said. 

Callie’s heart sank. She reached out and pushed the button to respond before Sarah could. “I’ll get it done.”

Sarah sighed. “So much for celebrating. Should we draw straws?”

Callie shook her head, her resolve settling in. “No. I think it has to be me. I came here to finish what my father started, and... that’s what I’ll do.”

“But there’s a code. We don’t know the code.” Sarah said, looking frantically around.

“No, I’m pretty sure I know what it is.” Callie said. She forced a smile. “And if I’m wrong, at least I could try punching in my own birth date.” 

Sarah looked pained. “I- I won’t forget this. No one will. But you’re going to have to hurry.”

“It’s been nice working with you, Sentinel.” Callie said, still smiling for Sarah’s sake.

“Same to you... civilian.” She replied as Callie stepped into the airlock. Sarah closed the door, and as the room pressurized, Callie dropped her smile and stuck the two stimpaks and four Rad-Xs she had into her arm at once.

“I am Alpha and Omega.” Callie whispered to herself as the inner door opened. A wave of irradiated air hit her hard. “The beginning and the end.” 

She took a step forward, and another. It felt like her skin was being electrocuted over and over again. She continued, louder this time. “I will give unto him that is athirst of the-”

She had to stop and gasp for breath. The air burned her lungs as she staggered the rest of the way to the inner console, but she spoke even louder. “-athirst of the fountain of the water of life...” 

She blinked away tears as the radiation stung her eyes. The numbers in front of her were blurry, but she was still able to punch in 21-6. Her mother’s favorite passage from Revelations, recited to her over and over again. Drilled into her brain by a father who was training her for something that mattered more than she’d ever thought possible. 

With a shaking hand, she hit the Enter key. “Freely.” She breathed, as the purifier roared to life. She looked back. Sarah was still on the other side of the glass. Her face was the last thing Callie saw before her vision cut out completely and she collapsed to the floor. It was over. They’d won.


	42. Walking Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended Listening:
> 
> Is That All There Is - Peggy Lee  
> Put ‘Em In A Box, Tie ‘Em With A Ribbon - Danny Kaye and The Andrews Sisters

There were voices in the darkness. Nothing concrete, just sentence fragments, but Callie knew she wasn’t alone. She blinked her eyes. How long had she slept? Her whole body felt sore. She slowly moved her head to the side to get her bearings, and it didn’t take her long to see a Brotherhood of Steel insignia. A medical bot hovered over to her. She’d seen it the last time she was at the citadel, the one that hated people and liked poetry. Callie gave it a slow smile.

“Man, am I glad I fixed you.” She said, her voice raspy and painful.

From the other end of the room, someone dropped something. “That was you?” A man’s voice said. In a moment, a soldier came into view. “Stay there, I’ll get the Elder.”

Callie frowned. She doubted Elder Lyons would be bringing something for the intense headache she was feeling, but at least he could tell her what happened with...

Callie shot upwards. “The purifier! Is it working?” She asked anyone who was listening, but the man had already left the room and Sawbones, the Mr. Gutsy, had nothing to say. A wave of nausea hit her hard, and she closed her eyes tightly and took a few deep breaths, lowering herself back down onto the cot she was lying on. After a minute, she heard shuffling footsteps coming towards her. Slowly this time, she sat up, fighting the sick feelings that came with the movement. 

“Careful now.” Elder Lyons said as he entered the room. “Don’t move too quickly.”

“The purifier?” Callie asked, clearing her throat.

“The purifier is exceeding expectations. The Tidal Basin is full of pure, clean water. We’ve already begun our distribution efforts.”

Callie let out a long breath. “How long was I out?”

“Eight days. We’ve been keeping a close eye on you. I’ve been coming down every day to check on you... and my daughter.” He said, looking over at the other bed in the room where Sarah lay unconscious.

“Is she okay?” Callie asked.

“I’ve been assured thar she will be. When the purifier was started, there was an energy spike that knocked you both unconscious. You’ve been here in the infirmary since. Now that you’ve woken up, it gives me a greater hope that she will recover as well.”

“She’s the strongest person I know. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Callie said, and hoped she was right. She felt so weak, and the room still spun a bit. “My friends, are they okay?”

“Yes. Your colleague from the vault is just fine, as well as that super mutant you brought with you.”

“And the Enclave. Did they leave?”

“They have pulled the majority of their forces out of the Capital Wasteland, but we won’t let them get away that easily. We’re still in the planning stages, but the Pride is working out a strategy to sweep the remnants of the Enclave away. While we may never be able to fully repay what you and your father have done for us, I hope you will still join us in this fight. Once you’ve recovered, of course.”

“Yeah.” Callie said. “Yeah, I’m in. As soon as the room stops spinning.”

“Of course. Rest for now. We expect to be ready for action in another week, and hopefully by then we’ll have our Sentinel back with us to lead the charge.”

“Thank you, Elder Lyons. I’ll check back in soon.” Callie said, smiling through the pain she was feeling.

The Elder nodded to her and, after a wistful look at Sarah, left the room. Callie looked at her pipboy. Her radiation level was high, but not nearly as high as she expected.

“How have you been treating me here?” She asked the Mr. Gutsy.

“You were given a combination of Rad-X and Rad-Away via IV drip for seventy-two hours. Once your radiation level was reduced to a manageable level, you were given two doses of Rad-Away, twice a day. I recommend that you continue that regime for another two weeks, then follow up with a doctor.”

“And that’s your medical opinion, Sawbones, or are you just trying to kill me?”

“My opinion, however reluctant, is accurate.” The bot said, before returning to the corner of the room. Callie could have sworn she heard it grumble as it went.

Callie stretched her arms. So, trauma from the energy spike mixed with an unreasonably large amount of radiation sickness. She should be dead. Ever so slowly, she reached down and found her boots near her cot and pulled them on. Someone had changed her into Brotherhood clothing, a grey tank top and sweatpants. She didn’t like the idea of that, but she decided it was better than lying down in her recon armor for a week. All of her things were piled on a chair next to her, along with a clean set of the same clothes she was wearing. She got to her feet, and saw stars. She waited a moment, before walking out into the hall towards the shower room, carrying the second top and sweatpants under her arm.

With the dizziness, taking a shower was an ordeal. Callie was greatly relieved to have the large room to herself, as it took her three times as long as it should have to get clean. She returned to the infirmary to collect her things, and by then the dizziness was less intense. As she pulled her jacket on, she felt more like herself. Callie walked over to where Sarah lay. She looked so small and vulnerable without the armor, that it felt somehow wrong to be looking at her like this. The blanket overtop of Sarah had fallen to her hips, and Callie pulled it up and over her shoulder.

“Rest well, Sentinel. I’ll see you soon.” Callie said, before leaving the room.

Callie flinched as she opened the door to the yard. Her head pounded, and she squinted against the brightness of the morning. Everyone she passed smiled at her, which was very different than the usual reaction she got from the Brotherhood. When she approached the two guards near outer door, one of them laughed.

“Oh good, you’re just in time.” She said.

“In time for what?” Callie asked.

“Your buddy has been coming by every day to yell at us to let him in.” The second guard said. “Ten o’clock every single day. Wait here a second and he’ll start again.”

Callie checked her pipboy. It was just after ten. “Why won’t you let him in?”

“Orders, Miss. You’re a part of the Brotherhood now, not him. Don’t worry, we told him we’d tell him if you woke up, but now you can tell him yourself.”

Sure enough, Callie heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

“You bastards. It’s been a week. Let me see her!”

Callie frowned at the guards. “He wouldn’t have done any harm. I’d be doing the same thing if it were him.”

One of the guards looked a little guilty. Outside, they heard Butch again. 

“Just five minutes, god damn it. I’m tired of doing this. Aren’t you tired of me doing this? Let me see her!”

Callie sighed. “Can you let me out, please?” She asked.

The second guard hit the control of the door. It slowly opened, and Butch’s voice grew louder. “You gotta let me in, Man. That’s my... my fuckin’ sister in there.”

The door raised fully, and Callie walked out the door and stood face to face with Butch, whose eyes widened. She smirked at him. “Sister, huh?”

Butch stood agape for a second, before breaking into a grin. “Oh, fuck you.” He laughed, before pulling her into a tight hug. “They told me you were in a coma or something, but they wouldn’t let come in and see for myself.”

“You didn’t miss much, I just woke up.” Callie said, swaying a little once he let her go.

“And you’re okay?” He asked, his eyes still wide with concern. “You scared the shit outta me.”

“I will be. I need... I need to see it.”

“What, the purifier? Yeah, let’s go.” Butch said, smiling. “You’re gonna love it.”

They started to walk, Callie was still a little wobbly, and it took a lot of concentration to move forward in a straight line. After a few steps, she noticed Butch was limping. “How’s your leg?” She asked.

“The Rivet City Doc said it should be okay in a few days. There was some tendon damage or whatever, but he says it’s healing and I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Callie said. “Where’s Fawkes?”

Butch laughed. “Man, I like that guy. He was feeling nervous ‘cause so many people saw him as a target out here, so two days ago I took him to Underworld. I kinda fucked up my leg even more doing that, but he liked it there, and now I know he’s not gonna get shot.”

“That was nice of you.”

“Syd says Hi.”

Callie stumbled, and Butch grabbed her arm. “It’s okay.”

Butch shrugged, but didn’t let her go. “You just got out of a coma, don’t worry about it.”

Callie let Butch hold her up as they walked, letting go only when reached the basin. In the distance, she could see the purifier, churning out huge amounts of water, exactly the way it was designed. Callie took a shuddering breath, and sunk to her knees at the water’s edge. She held her pipboy out to the water, and there wasn’t a single click on her geiger counter. The water was clean. Pure. She reached a hand into it and felt the water run through her fingers. Beside her, Butch sat down, carefully stretching out his leg in front of him.

“I...” Callie started. “I can’t believe it actually worked.” She said. After all this time, she’d finished what her father had started. The emotions were overwhelming, and she sat in bittersweet reverie, staring down at the clear water. 

Soon, Butch began to fidget. “So, now what? Is Sarah already putting you back to work?”

“Sarah’s still unconscious. They didn’t tell you that?”

“What? No. It took me a full day of yelling at them before anyone would tell me what happened to you. Is she gonna be all right?”

“They said she will, but Elder Lyons looked worried.”

“Damn.” Butch said, before carefully standing up. He reached a hand out to pull Callie up as well. “So what is the plan?”

“Well,” Callie said, grimacing at the pain that shot through her head as she stood. “I want to go to Rivet City because I’m starving, and then I really should go talk to Moira at Megaton. I told her I’d go see her as soon as the purifier was up and running.”

“You sure you’re up for that trip right now?” Butch asked as Callie stumbled again.

Callie tried to breathe through the pain. “Maybe tomorrow. We’ll see. Food first.”

It was slow going, but they made it to Rivet City without being hassled. The marketplace was bustling, but a hush fell as they walked down the stairs. Callie looked around the room and waved, which made some people look away, and others rush towards her. The first two to greet her were Flak and Shrapnel.

“You crazy kid, I can’t believe you pulled that off.” Flak said, enthusiastically shaking her hand.

“It’s still sinking in.” Callie said with a smile.

“Were you really unconscious this whole time?” Shrapnel asked. “We were starting to wonder if the Brotherhood were keeping you locked away.”

“No, they’ve been good to me. I just woke up an hour ago.”

Angela had also come over. “Is it true you were inside that thing when it exploded.”

“From what I hear, it only exploded a little, but... yeah.”

“Okay, okay. Give her some space.” Butch said, waving off the group that was starting to form.

Callie smiled. “It’s okay, I don’t mind talking about it, but... sitting down might be a good idea.”

Angela jogged ahead to make sure there was a table ready. They sat down and ordered burgers, and Callie and Butch told the story of the fight to everyone who wanted to hear.

“Some of us watched from the deck.” Cindy Cantelli said. “It looked terrifying. The chief had the entire security force at the ready if things came our way.”

Callie nodded, and took a drink from the bottle of Aqua Pura Angela had brought with their order. “That’s good to hear, but I’m glad it didn’t come down to that. Is he on duty right now?” Callie asked, looking around.

“I don’t know. Haven’t seen him in days.” Butch said, his mouth full of burger. Callie had already finished hers.

“That’s weird.” Callie said. She glanced down at her pipboy. It was Sunday, and maybe he had weekends off. Since leaving the vault, the days of the week meant far less than they used to, and it’s not like she paid too much attention to the Rivet City guard schedule.

From the upper level, Callie heard someone running, she looked up to see Wilks heading her way at a near sprint. He lurched to a stop in front of her table, out of breath.

She smiled up at him. “Hey, Kid.”

“You’re okay!” He said, still gasping for air.

“I’m fine. Not a hundred percent, but I’m fine.” She said, pulling out the chair next to her. Now that she’d finished describing the fight with the Enclave, the crowd had dispersed, and she was left to finish her meal with Butch and Wilks, who happily ate a few fries off of her plate when offered.

“The noise woke everybody up. Vera didn’t want me to go out to watch, but I snuck out after she was asleep.” He said.

“You should listen to Vera.” Callie said, “But I probably would have done the same thing. Have you seen the Chief today?”

Wilks stiffened up. “You should... you should talk to security about that.” He said.

Callie frowned. “Okay.” She looked over at where Harkness usually stood. Danvers was there instead. She ate the last bite of her burger and stood up. “I’ll be back.” She said.

With food and water in her stomach, Callie felt much stronger. She walked over to Commander Danvers without her legs shaking.

“Good to see you up and about.” Danvers said as Callie approached. Despite her words, she looked uncomfortable, which was a change from her usual confident stance. 

“Thanks. I was told to ask you about-”

“About Harkness? Yeah, um...” Danvers started, cutting her off. “He left.”

“Like... on vacation?” Callie asked, knowing how unlikely that would be.

Danvers looked exasperated. “I honestly don’t know. He packed up all his effects, and said he had some things to figure out back home. I asked him when he’d be back, he said he wasn’t sure.” She shook her head. “You know what it’s like talking to him sometimes, he’s like a brick wall.”

“Okay.” Callie said, unable to hide her disappointment. “Thanks... for letting me know. When was this?”

“Two days ago.” Danvers said. She looked relieved, like she expected a stronger reaction from Callie. “If it makes you feel any better, he asked about you before he left. I think he wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Callie nodded. “Thanks.” She said again before turning back around. He’d asked about her, which she could feel good about, but it also wasn’t enough to make him stay, which somehow made it worse. And what did he mean by needing to figure things out back home? Which home? Did he mean the Commonwealth, which seemed like the worst place for him, or back to the home of the man whose memories had been programmed into his head. 

Wilks looked up at her with concern as she walked back to the table, and so did Butch. So everybody knew that Harkness... mattered to her? Great. “So, I’m feeling better and need to stretch my legs. I’m going to take a walk around the ship. I’ll see you guys later.”

Butch nodded, and Callie was grateful for the lack of follow up questions. She wandered aimlessly through the lower and then upper decks. After half an hour, she found herself up on the outer platform. The same one where she’d first shot her plasma rifle with Harkness. There were still two rusty chairs, and she sat down on the one that gave her the best view of the Jefferson Memorial. The light didn’t hurt as much as it did earlier, and it really was a beautiful day. The constant motion of the clean water churning through the purifier made the light sparkle off the basin. “We did it, Dad.” She said softly. Today more than most, she missed him terribly. She hated that he didn’t get to see this, but she was grateful that he took the steps he did so that she could. She sat in silence for a long time, listening to the distant sounds of the falling water, and feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin. 

Soon, the door creaked open. Callie looked back to see Wilks walk out. He held two bottles of Nuka-Cola, and moved purposefully to the little radio next to the other chair. He inserted a holotape, turned it on and passed her one of the bottles. Callie gave him a curious look when a plucky melody began to play. Wilks sat down on the other chair, and launched into the song once it started.

“You can take the moon, gather up the stars, and the robins that sing merrily.” Wilks sang loudly, causing Callie to burst out laughing. “Put ‘em in a box, tie ‘em with a ribbon, throw ‘em in the deep blue sea.”

Callie hadn’t heard this song since she’d left the vault, but she still remembered all the words. She’d always liked the Andrews Sisters. She joined in, and soon they were both yelling out the lyrics. It wasn’t exactly what she was hoping to come back to, but it was still important. Butch calling her his sister and holding her arm as they walked, Wilks singing to cheer her up, even the other residents of Rivet City greeting her with warmth and gratitude meant the world to Callie. She still wanted to get to Megaton, but tonight she would stay, and celebrate with her friends.


End file.
